Rendezvous with Fate: An Alternate Universe Fanfic
by iCe
Summary: In a world where Akane never knew Ranma, never knew the Saotomes and is currently married to Ryoga Hibiki, she's never been more content.. Until she dies. She finds herself in the past, in the body of Kodachi and married to Ranma. Now she's lost.
1. Prologue

**Revision for entire story:  
**10/21/10 : start of complete re-write of first few chapters (v.3)  
04/02/06 : Still part of final polish, checked against a "common errors in the English language" article. (v.2.2)**  
**10/17/05 : final polish of all chapters by iCe (some pre-readers might add more revisions later  
especially after the FFML runs through with this) Most are grammar changes, but expect chapters 8-12 to be heavily edited. (v.2.1)  
12/25/01 : Grammar (v.2.1)  
12/25/99 : Changed the setting into Medieval Japan v.2

**Revision History (prologue):**  
10/21/10 : complete re-write of prologue

* * *

**_Little note before you start anything:_**

**This isn't a Ryoga-Akane story.**.. read up to Chapter 1 before you pass judgment.

Some adult situations insinuated in later chapters. The story contains some mature concepts. Implied adultery and bastards type mature. Some allusions to sex are also present but nothing explicit.

Ranma, Ranko and Nabiki... Nabiki in her cursed form will be referred to as Nabiki-kun in scenes that show the perspective of people who know about the Jusenkyo curse. (Ranma-chan in Ranma's case). When this is shown in Akane's point-of view, Ranma will be called Ranko and Nabiki will be called Ranma.

I only do this in the FIRST paragraph. After the initial paragraph, they are referred to as Ranma and Nabiki (even though they are cursed) since it's narration and Ranma-chan and Nabiki-kun isn't really good for the flow. Ranma knows he is a guy regardless of the current Jusenkyo gender and Nabiki is a girl, regardless of Jusenkyo gender and would be referred as such.

I hope this doesn't cause confusion.

For links to FANART, COVER ART, HEIRARCHY of FEUDAL JAPAN, please see LINKS on my PROFILE in

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All the day the darkness and the cold,  
Upon my heart have lain,  
Like the shadows on the wintry sky,  
Like the frost upon the pane.  
_John Greenleaf Whittier  
On Reviewing the Eagle's Quill _

**Rendezvous with Fate V.3  
**by iCe  
Prologue

* * *

Akane tied her hair in front of the mirror, getting ready to leave the dojo. She touched her rounded stomach trying to settle the fretting baby, knowing instinctively that he was going to be powerful. She marvelled briefly at the fact that she was still in wonder of the new life.

"He's going to be a strong one," she informed her husband, Ryoga, who was already tying laces of his pants near the furo.

He grinned at her goofily before agreeing, "Yeah, that's my kid." He stood up and helped her dress with the clothes that she had already picked and set infront of her.

She smiled at him fondly, an unusual feat since she was known for her quick temper. Her sister, Kasumi had once told her that if she had known that getting pregnant had been the solution for her surliness and general anger, they'd have agreed to a wedding match sooner. But, Akane had largely been an independent girl, and an omiai was resisted very, very well.

She had married late, after a fulfilling martial arts career and settling her husband to become less 'lost'. Her doctors had advised her that the conception might be difficult, especially after a surgery during a martial arts fight went wrong in her younger years. It was because of this that she had been surprised, and quite happy when she learned that she had conceived.

Ever since then, much like her older sister Kasumi, she had been pleasant and had a ready smile. She rarely lost her temper and she was even dissuaded some times to stop cooking. Something which would have brought on an exchange of words before. If Ryoga hadn't been used to Kasumi, he would have wondered what spirit had taken Akane and replaced her. As it was, he had a sneaking suspicion all Tendos felt that way at one point or the other. Only Kasumi, who was with her third child now, did not question this drastic change and happiness.

This morning she put on her maternity shirt and shorts as she brushed her short blue-black hair rushing about for her monthly visit to her obstetrician.

"Too bad you can't come with me," she said. "You should go to your dad - I mean **boss -**and kick his ass out of that old dojo. Why don't I go there and shout at him a little?" The two of them joked of challenging his father often enough. But mostly it was said in good fun, and knowledge that though Ryoga's father had completely crazy training techniques, he loved Ryoga.

Ryoga's strong sense of responsibility only became more apparent with the news of the upcoming baby. "I'll try."

Akane gave him a horrified look. "And get you lost for three days in the middle of Metropolitan Tokyo? Are you nuts?" She kissed him on the cheek and smiled. He sighed. He was used to the banter. It was true after all, and he did hate getting lost in a straight corridor. It just baffled the mind. Her father had wanted Ryoga to keep the Tendo Dojo, but Ryoga himself was heir to his own style of martial arts. Her father and Ryoga had reached the compromise of caring for the dojo. It was the reason that Ryoga and Akane lived there instead of with the Hibikis, while Kasumi's husband, Dr. Tofu, who was himself a martial artist in his own right, became the Tendo Dojo's heir. "Don't get lost or anything stupid like that."

He smiled at her and said, "How could I get lost when my father sends his youngest apprentice here everyday? He doesn't trust me to go to the dojo."

She pinched his cheek. "Heck, **I** don't trust you to go to the Hibiki dojo alone. I don't trust you to get out of the **house** alone." then she looked at her watch and grimaced, "I've got to get going, call me when you're ready to leave that dreadful building, okay? So I can start supper."

Ryoga nodded at her then risked asking, "What are you cooking tonight?" The only edible dish that Akane could cook was curry. So it was a relief when she answered that she was going to cook just that.

"You needn't go and hide beg Kasumi for food," she told him sternly. She knew that she couldn't cook, but she **had** improved a bit in the years, and wasn't she supposed to at least cook a little for her husband? "Bye."

"Bye," he said then kissed her on the cheek.

The commute towards the women's health clinic that was checking up on her was crowded. It was Tokyo, the train was always busy and there were always high school children or businessmen on the commute. She noticed a businessman, who was obviously in a hurry, it was already that borderline time when the offices clocked in, push around for the slot to get first on the train.

"Okay, okay," Akane murmured, irritated by the impatience that everyone was showing. Some people actively shoved during these times, "We're all in a hurry to be somewhere."

When the train's headlights came, she stepped back carefully, when one of the businessmen in the sidelines **jumped**on the tracks. Akane stared at the man dumbly before pushing around and going to the tracks to pull him up. He was muttering and kicking and screaming to be let go. With herculean effort, Akane threw the businessman on the platform just as the train's brakes screeched.

She had almost been freed of the accident, but made the mistake of not accounting for her new balance because of the pregnancy. With the hysterical people surrounding her, the whistling of the police, Akane fell onto the tracks just as she realized the screams and the brakes of the train. "My baby, My God, save my baby, don't let him get hurt.", That was her last thought before she was engulfed in the blackness that was unconsciousness.

There are moments in time when the world holds its breath in wait after momentous events. This was such a time. There was no sound on the tracks as they stopped and stared and just figured out what was happened before the police were backing people away, bringing the hysterical businessman towards the stationmaster's guards and the train crew decided what to do, how to identify the dead, it was all very organized. There was a loud speaker announcing the delay in the train scheduling, a usual announcement seeing that suicide by train was a popular endeavor.

Akane was feeling strangely detached as she watched her running shoes under the train's metallic rails remembering a play on the Wizard of Oz when she was younger. Her hands flew towards her abdomen with a sickening realization that she was a spirit, and that her body was still greatly disfigured under the train tracks.

Stricken she tried to go back to her body, without thinking of the mechanics of it just wanting to keep her baby safe. Had she looked towards the rail she would have seen a shinigami, a death god, with his black cloak and long scythe watching her, puzzled. Akane's determination to live was quite extraordinary. If she had been sick, the shinigami would have given her a second chance at life. But this was not a sickness, and Akane had an irreplaceable body.

Usually, if a person did not know that they were dead, the shinigami set on them would give them a day to visit the places she knew, continue doing the thigns they did before breaking the news to them. If the will wasn't strong enough but there was unfinished business, they became wraiths, forcing the shinigami to exorcise them if they evaded for too long. However, this woman knew that she was dead, and she still had a very strong will to survive, and there was no way to resolve her death. It was a rare case for them to handle.

Another shinigami came in the blink of an eye to talk over what to do, they argued until another one came and gave an easy solution.

She was perfect. She out of the thousands and thousands of candidates that was put before them was the one who could take the challenge and face the past that was ruined.

With a questioning look towards the most senior shinigami, who gave a pleased and satisfied nod, the decision was made. Akane Hibiki was the one who could fix the wrong a bumbling god did more than a hundred years before.

* * *

The funeral and cremation had been hell. It was as if his depression, which Akane had taken away from, him came back like huge mountain and was placed in his shoulders. He had walked about with as much bleakness as he had when he was roaming around Japan; he still couldn't believe that she was dead. That Akane was dead, that their baby would never live, that he would never have a child with her, and that he would never grow old with her... and so much more could have's and should have's.

Now, not only was he mourning for the loss of a wife, but also the loss of a son or daughter he never even had a chance to see. He sighed, not knowing where he had gone wrong, what he had done to deserve this.

He was in the living room, because he couldn't stand to be with the rest of the family, who were in the dojo, still weeping over the newest addition to the family shrine. They couldn't even put enough pieces together to bury. They had had to cremate.

But the house was worse, because Akane had been there last. She had left the slippers on the doormat. There was instant curry powder placed on the counter, ready for her to cook for that evening. It was still a moment, where he could suspend belief and hold on the the fact that she might laugh, punch him on the shoulder and scold him for spiralling down to depression again. He couldn't clean because he would put all memories of her away.

Ryoga loosened the belt of the formal overcoat for the hakama he'd worn for the ceremonies. He hadn't worn anything close to it before being more of a nomad as a martial artist. He would probably never be able to wear it again. It was then that the doorbell rang and caught his attention. He couldn't bear to get up to see who it was. It probably was another friend to tell him that they were sorry and offer sympathy.

He couldn't bear that. He just wanted to loose himself in his depression for a while. He needed it, just for now. He knew they meant well, and that they too were grieving her loss, but he couldn't face them yet. He sighed in defeat as it rang again, and went towards the door. "At least I can't hear sobbing, so it means it isn't her father, he's probably still at the shrine." As he opened it, he was surprised to see a complete stranger at the door.

There was a young woman and a shriveled up crone standing there. The young woman was wearing a skimpy white Chinese dress that hugged her body closely and carried a briefcase, while the old woman stood there using a wooden cane for support, a cane that he suspected was just as old as she was.

"Ryoga Hibiki?" the younger woman asked. She appeared quite stunned at his bleak nod, but quickly collecting herself looked at the old woman, who prodded her to go on. "I Len Dy and Great-grandmamma Xian Pu. Len Dy and great-grandmother too, too sorry to disturb at too, too... awkward time. Great-grandmother read accident to Len Dy in plane in way heres. Is -"

"Forgive my great-granddaughter for her inaptness towards your language, Hibiki-san," said the crone, she smiled a little to reveal a perfect set of teeth. "But perhaps I should explain the reason why we're here inside?"

"I'm not - That is I'm really - It's not a good time for me..." Ryoga said, but he still stepped aside allowing her to enter. He led her to the living room, where Ryoga sat heavily in his chair, not even attempting to hide his weariness. The woman sat on the couch, snapped open her over-sized briefcase and brought out a thick paper packet, which she handed over to Ryoga. He looked at the thick package with a little interest then brought his attention back to the old woman.

"We are so sorry to come at such an awkward time...My name is Xian Pu and current matriarch of the Amazon Village, and this is my great-granddaughter Dy Len. I am honored to have reached this age where in I am able to deliver this to you personally. You see a friend entrusted this to me when I was quite young, with a request that it be delivered to a Ryoga Hibiki at this address on this date. Honestly, sonny boy, I didn't think she was right in the head for a few years, but my great-grandmother told me to deliver the request, so here I am."

"What is this?" Ryoga asked, holding the leather packet, his curiosity finally piqued.

"I havesome idea of what it may contain, the person who gave it to me left some clues, although it would be best if you yourself open it. I was given very specific instructions, and part of that was that no one was to open the packet except Ryoga Hibiki."

"Someone gave it to you when you were young? In China? I haven't been outside...oh...well I think I haven't been outside Japan." Ryoga creased his eyebrow to think. "I don't know any Chinese except the owner of the Chinese restaurant down the street."

"I never actually said she was Chinese, and I never actually said she gave it to me in China." The matriarch smiled. "I think you would find the contents rather surprising. She gave me that ohh... more or less three hundred years ago."

"Only way to find out is to open the packet," Len suggested, obviously hoping he would do so in her presence. That earned her a quick bop on the head by the matriarch.

Ryoga did so, unbuttoned the leather carrying case, and withdrew a thick packet of individual letters tied together in a brittle red ribbon. He fished around inside the packet and withdrew a single envelope with the words, "Open First" scrawled on it. Ryoga opened the letter, taking out two sheets of paper with an impossibly familiar handwriting on them. He read the first few sentences, growing very still. His eyes, against his will, filled with tears.

"I'm sorry," Ryoga rasped. "I've got to be alone right now. I know you're curious. I'll fill you in some other day. Just not today, Ms. Dy, Honored Matriarch."

Xian Pu nodded and signaled to her charge that the meeting was terminated, but smiled at Ryoga before she left. "I know you will be curious. I would just like to say I knew her. Here is the address of the lodgings where we will be staying. A visit from you would be welcome."

Len rose from her seat and smiled at him while placing a supposedly comforting hand against his shoulder. Clearly, she was disappointed. The mystery would continue, at least for a time. Her other friends back in the village would be disappointed as well.

"I'll show myself out..." Xian Pu he said when it became clear that Ryoga had been engrossed in reading that letter. She understood that the young man would need his time alone. She gave her great-granddaughter another bop in the head when they were in the streets. _" Len, you are going to have to re-learn your manners, improve your Japanese and be a little bit more useful than what you did today."_

Len cringed at that _" Sorry great-grandmother..." _

* * *

Ryoga couldn't believe what he held in his hand. Surely it was a gift from the gods. Why? Because the letter was from Akane.

_Ryoga,_

_You know I don't usually write letters, it screams of confessions in high school, but since __I have no other way of contacting you, here I am writing this thing. Smile, Ryoga, I know you must be depressed now because of what happened._

_This is going to be hard to believe and I know that it is, well, kinda weird, but hey, life's supposed to be weird, I guess... but we've known each other for a long time, and we've known some pretty magical and mystical things happen for you to understand that I'm not being cruel, and I'm not joking._

_I really, really fought with myself wondering if I should write or not. In the end, I think, because you're easily depressed, I thought it would be best if I did__. Well, by now, I think you know who this is (especially with my handwriting). I am an old lady now, and think of you with love and our two years together (well probably more so if we start when we met, but since you get lost so much I guess it's about, ahhh four years)._

_The strangest thing happened to me on that accident, if Xian Pu will do as I tell her... about three days after that thing happened. Anyway... um, someone up there decided that I shouldn't die. But as you probably know (but don't like to think about) my body was unrecyclable, to be rather graphic. It was irreparably damaged. So, somebody in heaven decided I should live, but in another woman's body. Unfortunately they chose this woman from the 1600's (since you may think she's Chinese... well, she's not... Just because the messenger is...) well, anyway... I'm drifting._

_I wrote dozens of letters to you, sometimes when I was really depressed too, because I didn't know what to do. I wrote because before, I didn't know how to talk to. I thought that maybe you should have them right? __I decided air Mail VIA Shampoo would be great, neh? Assuming the old hag is still alive by our time...your time now. You know, you can ask her anything about my life now. She'd know most of it._

_Having me in another century doesn't help a bit, and I couldn't possibly send it to your father's ancestors, how am I supposed to know if your relatives don't get lost? (Oops sorry, I couldn't help it) Besides, that would spoil the whole FUTURE for them... for us, and we don't want them to ruin the timeline and all that._

_I've had a good life, I've been happy, for the most part, though it was hell well, in the beginning anyway. Let me tell you..._

_I've included some neat little trinkets that I've collected that would be priceless in our time. They should make you rich, rich, rich! Shampoo would give you those... I told her not to give you that until... later... It would help with the dojo, we all know how expensive prime lot in Tokyo is._

_The other packet contains... a few remembrances..._

_Ahhh and it's okay if you remarry, a good person like you shouldn't dwell on me too much..._

_The most important thing, though, are my letters. My life._

_Your loving wife,_

_Akane_

* * *

**Disclaimer:**I do not own Ranma1/2 and the book I based it from Which is When there is Hope, and if you sue me you can't possibly get money from me.

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**Author's notes: **

Gaah I can't believe how much time investment I have on this... anyway enjoy:)

Before version 2 and version 3, this was largely set at the same place in the book. And the prologue was almost lifted from "When there is Hope" chapter 1-6 does have a bit of change, but it's still too close to the book for my taste and thus will also have a complete re-write. This version, which I've been meaning to do for a while now takes into account eastern mythos which I've failed to do before. But med school has gotten away with me and locked me up. Chapters 1-6 will also enjoy the same treatment, and please be patient. I will have to reupload in some of the other sites where this is hosted. Due to the fact that this is an old fic, there are NO BETAS that will be checking the rewrites unless someone volounteers.

Suicide in railroad tracks are often done in Japan. The occurence is so high that the railways SUE the families of those who commit suicide.

Shinigami, for those not aware, are the death dieties in Japanese lore.

Okay after that silly talk ummmmm...I'd like to thank the people who

gave their very helpful comments and criticsm (especially to Angel, who made me turn this into medieval Japan, and MJ!) to whose enormous  
support I could never do without :) AND to the Mr. Phillip who has given me space in his website :) He's such a dear.

**website: **ice _dot_esmartdesign _dot _com (largely LATE in its updates since my harddrive crash)  
**e-mail**: siuane _at_gmail _dot _com  
**livejournal**: ice _underscore_ of _underscore_ dreams

FF.N formatting is starting to really get under my skin. I was ok when they started that automatic paragraphs I was fine when they had to make me upload everything with this editor... but... come on... strip off linking out? Strip off underscores and at signs... erg. I used them as DIVIDERS BEFORE

iCe

* * *

**Special thanks to:**

MJ, Maurice Phillip, Tony Loco , Tin and Angel, Jourdan Bickham, Jose Aragao, Byooki Desu, Anno Nimus, C. Jones Richard, Robinson, David Bateson, David Stanley, Jitou,King Chan, Lawrence Chu, Bert Miller, The Dragonbard, Darthcwader1, Erin, Outlawone1, David Calvarese, Larry F, khymchanur

And to the person reading this.

* * *

**Disclaimer:**Ranma and co. were borrowed from the brilliant mind of Rumiko Takahashi. The book I based it from is 'When there is Hope'. They have my sincerest apologies.


	2. Part 1 : February

**Revision History:  
11/17/10 - **changed all angel incidents to Shinigami incidents

* * *

Hark! They whisper: angels say,  
Sister spirit, come away!  
What is this absorbs me quite?  
Steals my senses, shuts my sight?  
**Alexander Pope**  
_The Dying Christian to His Soul_

* * *

**Rendezvous with Fate V. 3  
**by iCe  
Chapter 1

_... The first few days were the worst. I was so confused and hurt..._

* * *

The last thing Akane remembered seeing was her hand stretching out towards her body. Thankfully, she did not see its state, but she touched her fingers. As she did so, the railway tracks faded and she blanked out.

With contentment, she somehow realized that she reached where she was meant to be. Feeling returned to her slowly. As it finally completed, she could've sworn she felt herself falling. Had she been given more time to process the situation, she would have at least tried to maneuver around so she would not fall headfirst. A groan involuntarily escaped from her lips, the intense pain forced her out of her body again when she collided with the ground.

oOo

Kodachi struggled from the horse as it reared its head. She let one out of her infamous laughs as she threw her head back in defiance. No one was near her and the person farthest from her reach was Ranma himself. She caught his gaze for a moment and smiled at what she saw there. Ranma rarely showed her any emotion at all. Lately it was a challenge, even for her, to make him angry.

All of a sudden her hand slipped from the horse. She let out a small gasp as she fell head-first towards the ground. She was a bit rusty in her practice of the art, but she still knew enough to know how to land on her feet. She started to twist around, when she was engulfed in a blackness that she could not identify.

She shook her head from the suddenness of the change. It seemed she was amidst hundreds of bushes of roses. Black ones, the ones she so loved. She was about to pick up one of the blossoms when she heard a noise. It was so soft that she thought she imagined it. She felt uneasy about the place, yet she maintained her stature as best she could.

"Kodachi," a voice called. Kodachi narrowed her eyes. She looked around the garden but saw no one.

"How dare you sneak up on me, insolent fool!" she called out as she looked around her for the origin of the voice. The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once, and she disliked not knowing who she was talking to. "How impolite. I am Saotome Kodachi-noh-Ranma, a samurai of the Kisagi lineage. It is my right that I be called with the honorific '-sama' or '-san'!"

"I'm sorry."

It was a simple statement. Something that Kodachi heard almost every day, and yet, something in the voice, was its sincerity, that seemed entirely foreign. "Who are you?" She asked with a little fear creeping to her heart.

"Here, it doesn't matter who I am," the voice said as Kodachi's hand went to her head. She suddenly felt intense pain coming, yet distant at the same time, as if it was not happening at all.

"Do not talk riddles with me." Feeling that her head was slickly wet, she pulled her hand down to her eyes to look unbelievingly at the blood that dripped from it.

"You are too worldly for your own good. Even now as we have separated you from your body, you remain attached to it." Her head ached, it was pounding, pounding, she couldn't think straight. "You chatter too much."

"**You** were a mistake!"

She almost let out a laugh. A mistake. Mistakes are meant to be eradicated. Usually.

oOo

There was emptiness...

No sound, no feeling, no sight...

A few seconds of emptiness.

And then the sudden burst of everything: she could feel, she could hear, and though her eyes were closed, there was the red glare that was surely the sun shining through her eyelids.

Akane tried to move her head but groaned at the little movement she managed. She was both uncomfortable and very much in pain. In a second, she realized that someone was holding her, trying to see if she was all right.

"Kodachi... open your eyes." It was a man's voice, close to her ear. Akane shook her head, realizing her mistake just as soon as she did so, pain bursting from the back of her head to the base of her neck. His hand hovered on her eyes, as if in contemplation then lifted her eyelids with his thumb on her brow.

Akane managed to give him a weak glare at the sudden light of the sun. Even that small glare gave her trouble. "Kodachi, will you stop being stubborn?" It was a woman speaking this time. She leaned closer then snorted in exasperation.

'Are they calling me Kodachi?' She thought to herself, having heard the name the second time around. Finally, she remembered why she ached so much, 'The accident...' Akane thought... trying to remember exactly what happened, but could not.

'Did I survive?' She very much doubted it. She knew she died. She knew that for a certainty. 'Then why do I feel alive? Surely death would not inflict so much pain, nor leave me confused.'

She moved her hand slightly, and another wave of pain coursed through her, causing her head to pound. She felt the damp grass against her hand, and she was confused all the more, 'Grass? Does Nirvana have grass? Reincarnation?' Her thoughts were moving erratically from one point to the next. 'But... that's supposed to be in forty days.'

She tried to think, move as thoughts plagued her of being one animal or the next, as she thought of being one object from the other. 'But... reincarnation with **all** my memories?'

A breeze stirred her, and she realized she was very cold. She suppressed a shiver for her body ached at every single twitch of her muscle. 'Where am I?' She was frightened now, not knowing why she was present and not understanding her predicament.

She tried to speak, but the effort was too great, and the questions too many. In the end, she spoke out only one word, "Cold..." She couldn't suppress her final shiver.

The man who held her looked up. "Ifuku, a blanket." He didn't shout, but his voice was commanding, and the woman scampered at the command. There was a light touch on her shoulder and a soft cloth on her forehead, she tried to shake it away but the woman sternly held on to it, pressing hard against it. "It's to stop the bleeding, Kodachi."

"Let Nabiki do it." Another command. Akane felt herself being shifted, and then something heavy dropped on her body. A blanket that smelled of hay and horses.

It was eerily silent with no one speaking. She could hear waves, the horses' neighs, the shift of cloth, but no one spoke more than necessary. Had she not opened her eyes, she would not have realized that there were more than three people with her.

Suddenly everything stopped.

There was nothing again...

She was floating ... and when she opened her eyes, she didn't feel pain.

"Where am I?"

"In the void between consciousness and unconsciousness..." a singsong voice answered out of nowhere.

Akane looked around. There was nowhere to hide in this place. Wherever it was, it seemed to be an endless blue. The voice was not traceable to a particular spot, like an echo that resounded, though there were no barriers to bounce off it. "Who are you?"

"Oops, sorry, forgot about that invisible thing. I always forget that," the person said as he it whatever began to materialize before her. "Must be why that other girl kept asking me **where** I was when I was **obviously** in front of her."

When he finished, Akane blinked once, then another time. She pinched herself to be sure she was awake then took a deep breath. "You **must** be joking..." The shinigami, well pig, that was in front of her held its head up indignantly. "I have been taking care of you for twenty five years now young lady..." He abruptly stopped at what seemed stopped laughter coming from her throat and raised an eyebrow well Akane thought it was the equivalent of raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, I'm sorry, it's just that..." She smiled a little then patted the pig that was hovering above her chest.

"It's not my fault. You're the one who conjured up this scene. I didn't even know what I was supposed to look like." He told her sternly then continued, "As I was saying we are in the 'Betweeness' if you want to call this void something."

"And why exactly are we in this 'Betweeness'?" Akane asked speculatively catching a cloud at her palms as it breezed by, shaping it.

"For me to explain to you what you're doing here," the pig smartly said and started off with such a torrent of words that Akane could only stare at open-mouthed and wide-eyed. When he finished, he looked at her and asked. "Well? I thought you'd be reacting to this much like that other woman - oops, there I go again saying things I shouldn't have."

"Would you run that by me again?" She asked, feeling a headache coming on. She gingerly sat down at one of the clouds a little bit surprised that it held her.

"We don't have much time to do this." The pig muttered, "Just know that I am your guardian and that I will see to your safety."

As he said those last words, the blue started to fade into black and pain started to return, though as she returned, the shinigami whispered the message that they wanted her to hear. In the back of her shocked mind, the pig squealed and said that she was not actually hearing the shinigami, but simply knew what they were saying.

What he said was so unbelievable that she needed to shake her head to clear it, an action which caused another rush of pain.

She was not aware of her surroundings yet and could only try to sort what was in her mind right now. She continued thrashing back and forth as if to stop that little black pig that continued to invade her mind. Despite that, the message came through and she understood.

They told her in a rush of magic and whispers that she had died on the railway, and that her unborn baby had also died with her. Though her body was dead, her soul was living in another woman. She wasn't pregnant any longer. She was living that other woman's pain while her mind and soul continued to live on. She was surprised that the explanation actually managed to take out her fright and confusion of the whole ordeal.

The voice suddenly stopped and she felt a hand that brushed her head, no, **inside** her head, like a feather touching her, to erase her pain and the agony she felt over the message.

Akane then tried to sit up straight, but a restraining hand held her. Opening her eyes, she saw the woman giving her a stern look to chastise her. The woman then took the small cloth she was holding against Akane's head frowning at the blood-soaked cloth. The woman shook her head as another cloth was handed to her and held it down against Akane's still bleeding wound. Surprisingly, Akane hurt far less than she remembered.

"I think we should call 119," Akane suggested hoping that someone has a cellular phone to reach the emergency number. She shook her head at her own voice startled at its sound. It was... higher, shriller. "Or maybe the doctor?"

'This woman was empty.' Akane thought not knowing just how right she was. She started crying, pouring out in tears the grief over what she lost; suddenly understanding her situation. She cried not only because of her baby, but also because of her husband, because of the life she knew she could not go back to.

It was a grief so violent that the people who surrounded her immediately started to try to calm her. Although everyone including her 'guardian angel' were trying to soothe her, they could not fill the emptiness she felt, as if they knew that this purging was necessary for her sanity.

One woman turned to the girl who they called Ifuku. "Ready her bed. She's going to need rest." The girl was swift on her feet and was gone in an instant. The woman then laid her hand on the man who was holding her. "She needs to get inside the house. She's delirious."

The man considered it for a moment then agreed. Akane felt herself being lifted quite easily, as if she weighed no more than a stack of books. She also felt the sadness fade away, replaced by an odd sense of exhilaration. 'Chemical imbalance,' she thought as she held on tightly to his neck. The pain in her head was still heavy, but at least she was on a chemical high. 'Someone in heaven must be looking after me.'

"I'll call the healer." The woman said as she turned towards the entrance. He hesitated a bit but the woman followed it up with a smile and a knowing glance. "I'd be faster than your samurai."

At that, he conceded and let her go. Finally, when they walked a considerable distance, she tugged on his shirt. He leaned closer, but did not stop walking. "I can walk now," she told the man who was carrying her. "Besides, I don't think you can carry me much further.

The man gave her a sharp look bordering on anger. She saw him for the first time. He was handsome, very handsome. Dark hair, deep blue eyes her favorite combination. But right now, he had a deep scowl, his lips compressed to hard to see what their usual shape was.

He looked at her for a minute. "Are you mocking me?" he asked her angrily, his head looming above hers with an ominous look. "You know very well I can carry you to and fro with whatever you throw at me, running, or fighting my way through your tons of suitors."

'Brash male arrogance.' Akane has always been independent and she was not going to break that now. "Honestly! Put me down. I'll lean on you, but this is ridiculous."

He did not let her go as he continued to walk on towards wherever he was headed. That started to irritate Akane. "Will you please let me down?" The man glared at her then let her legs down, but kept his right hand along her back for support. When she touched the ground, she felt shaky and immediately regretted her demands. "Just let me get my bearings." She said as the young man who helped her spun in her vision, she tried to focus her eyes as she held her hand out for support.

"I told you, you can't walk," he said sternly, gripping her arm tightly, just as the world stopped spinning. She stared at the imposing man who took charge. He wore a red Chinese shirt and loose black pants that looked Chinese. Glancing back at the people about, she noted with surprise that they were all dressed in kimonos.

She identified them as samurai from the two swords. Looking at herself, she noted that she too was wearing a long black kimono beneath a heavy cloak-like thing that damply clung to her. She wrinkled her brow, which made her pain worse.

She tried to balance herself. As a martial artist, she had learned balance at an early age. However the new body she was occupying thew her off by a whole margin. The frame was not tall enough, the bones too petite, although she was rather ... plumper than she had realized. She was going to have to push this body through a lot of martial arts training to get to its proper condition. "I'm... fat and FRAGILE!" Akane said in disbelief as she took stock of her current body.

The man was now looking at her as if she just suggested taking over Japan, then looked back at the group to see if anyone else heard her. He looked relieved that they were clustered around a horse to one side. The horse was far more important loss than Akane's accident it seemed. Akane looked at what he was staring at and asked, "What's wrong with him?" The mare stood fifty yards away and was surrounded by people looking at her legs.

"Congratulations, Kodachi, you just managed to do some of your favorite things: degrade me in front of my samurai **and** my sister by deliberately disobeying me. You have shamed me further by hurting one of the gifts our liege lord has given us." The man's beautiful blue eyes hardened and Akane was reminded of ice. "It broke its leg. I told you not to jump her. I told you she wasn't ready. She'll be destroyed."

"Destroyed?" Akane repeated, not understanding. "But... why?"

The man rolled his eyes at her and said, "You have got to be kidding! You know better, Kodachi. Don't pretend you're sorry for what you did and don't pretend ignorance. Have you forgotten who you're talking to Kodachi?" He looked at her with something close to disgust and...what was that thing...hatred?

"But I didn't do anything!" Akane protested without thinking as she looked at the man, pleading for him to understand her situation. She then had the odd floating sensation and the man's face wavered in front of her. She didn't quite understand why the man was calling her Kodachi. And then suddenly, she remembered the shinigami's warning. She was probably Kodachi. Or rather, she had possessed Kodachi's body.

Hearing her denial at the blame caused the man infront of her to become even angrier as he pulled her arm roughly and forced her to walk faster than she could have. She could hardly manage with the headache, and she certainly couldn't with the dress, especially not with the string that tied her knees together, and he was just too darned fast. He led her off the grass and onto the smooth dirt track, but she felt weird in the new body, and she found herself stumbling more than she would've liked.

Her eyes started to blur with what she thought were tears, but she could see where he was taking her. To her right was a field, the tall grass shivering in the cold breeze; to their left were woods and the trees bare of leaves. Although she knew that it was August and summer when she left, she had a feeling it was late winter now. The air was sharp, but has a fecund smell, as if things were beginning to grow. She also knew they were close to the sea, because of the familiar clean, salty smell was strong. As they turned the bend, Akane got her first glance of a huge house that was nestled behind high shrubbery. But as she tried to get more details of the house, her eyes lost focus once more.

"Is that where we're going?" she asked. Her head pounded. She couldn't think straight, and she suddenly felt a wave of nausea wash over her, "I don't think I can make it. I don't feel so good." He stopped and turned to look at her checking for signs of injury. With that final check she managed to stop walking, thew up and fainted.

oOo

Ranma Saotome caught his wife as she slumped to the dirt. 'That fall is making her act differently,' he thought. He expected Kodachi to rant, rave and laugh that infuriatingly loud laugh of hers then rant again about not training the horse properly. She was just too damned cheerful especially taking in to consideration what just happened.

He just couldn't understand her. As he carried her towards Rose Brier, he looked down at her face. She was starting to look old and she was only twenty and five, he thought. Too much sake, the late nights, the... indulgences she never seemed to refuse were catching up with her. The young demure countenance that she'd donned at their marriage when he was twenty-two was not there anymore. She had aged faster than her years.

But, though her face had changed, she had managed to keep all her vices and her scheming. She was just the same black rose back when she was nineteen as she was now at twenty-five. She just had more thorns. He should have known about her when they were married, but that wouldn't have made a difference. The marriage was arranged to cement a family alliance with the Kunos, with the dowry of Rose Brier having made the arrangement much more attractive to his clan, since it provided tactical advantages allowing the clan to even better control its fief.

Regardless of the best interests of his clan, at the time of the marriage he though Kodachi was a blessing for his clan and his fief. She had been a well-sought-after beauty and she had a very good dowry. She had been hidden away in the Kuno, their liege showing her only to prospective suitors. She had been rumored to be charming, well-bred and well trained. She hadn't changed after they had married. She was still charming, well-bred and well trained. She just showed that being charming and well-bred lent well to being manipulative and sadistic, thorns to her rose. No wonder the people in Kuno lands had called her the Black Rose. He should have asked why.

At their first meeting, they had already managed to get on each other's wrong foot.

"**You're** the lowlife my father has arranged on my marriage?" Kodachi demanded when they had met, twirling a rose as she sat on the large futon that occupied the room that they were supposed to share. "You look pathetic."

Ranma recoiled at the words. He was young and almost sheltered. He lived in a world with no political agendas, no samurai, no daimyo. He knew no betrayal and though his foster father Genma tended to act foolishly, it has always been for the good of the twins. It was his first taste of the real world, and he reeled from it.

"But... "

"Don't **tell** me you're going to grovel." Kodachi scrunched her nose in obvious distaste as she dug into her futon throwing her covers over herself, "I hate a man who has no backbone."

He stopped and looked at her then turned away for another room not wanting to stay in bed with her. Although he had every right to order her out of his house, every right in their laws to take her head... he didn't. She was still useful to the Clan: her dowry was protecting her on one side, the support of the Kunos on the other.

Over the years, he had learned what she truly was. The foster family chosen by her parents was a mistake, and her mother's death in the War when she was five worsened her state. Her father hasn't been the same after his wife's death and didn't care for her. Her foster mother (1) spent more time gossiping than teaching her proper behavior. When her brother caught torturing one of their subjects when she was seventeen, he gave her an ultimatum: Find a respectable man to marry or be forced to be left out on the streets, **forbidden** to the right of seppuku, which she would never earn. So that is what she did.

After that disastrous night, it was just sex between Kodachi and Ranma, and that only when she used one of her potions. After a while, he just managed to find ways not to be home when she was. Her touch left him feeling filthy and self-loathing that he couldn't live with her. So he had arranged never to meet her when he was able.

So they ignored each other, he rarely brought her to Saotome Clan functions, and he didn't allow her to mingle with his people. In return she passed her time without bothering him too much.

His mother told him that he should get a consort for himself and reminded him time and again that he was allowed to, but he refused completely. He had plenty of 'consorts' in the form of endless fiancées before. He didn't want more. The day the head of the Saotome Clan, Happosai, called Ranma up to Happosai's donjon, the central main building of the clan castle, at the Kanto to solve his fiancées problem had been the start of his disaster.

"Ranma, my boy, I think six years of evading your fiancées is long enough, don't you think?" Happosai had said when Ranma had answered the summons. Happosai was a shriveled up old ghoul who still managed to sit aloofly on the silken cushions of the audience room when it was necessary.

Holding the clan for nearly two centuries merited him many things, and he trained his eyes on Ranma, who showed such great potential at becoming a leader. "I'm offering you an easy way out, my boy. I can strip you of all your fiancées."

Ranma was skeptical, although he didn't show it. He didn't want to be impolite to his liege lord. His fiancées were harder to get rid of than Happosai thought. He should know, he spent six years trying. "I don't think so, my lord. My fiancés are... a lot... and the only easy way out of it would be to commit seppuku."

The old man's eyes flared at what his great-great-grandnephew suggested. The boy was still useful. "You are forbidden to commit seppuku on the matter of your multiple iinazukes!"

There was a short pause, a moment for Ranma to breathe and realize what was not granted to him. It was something he both wanted and detested. Ranma always asked for the ritual suicide every year, as was his right to do so. As always, Happosai's response was just as vehement against it. He already decided that the women were not the boy's fault.

Ranma protested, "I am dishonored. You can't have a samurai with that much shame around dirtying the Saotome name." The multiple iinazukes has made him feel dishonored since he learned of them, especially since he knew he wasn't planning to keep any of them. He always asked for permission to commit seuppuku so that if he committed it, he'd receive honor. Unlike battle, for his circumstances if permission wasn't given, no amount of seppuku would restore his honor.

"I offer a simpler way out. The Lady Kodachi of the Kuno Clan is nineteen. At that age, she is ripe for the plucking. Her dowry, Rose Brier, which borders on the Kanto Mountains and the shore of the bay, has great tactical advantage. It is easy to protect and a good place to keep meetings when we are pressed on our back with messengers we don't want."

There was a short pause again. Not one of the samurai surrounding them stirred, though most knew the Lady Kodachi's infamous reputation. Ranma held a puzzled frown as he sneaked a peek at Happosai. "I don't see how marrying the Kodachi Kuno helps..." There was a pause. "It is rumored the woman is touched by the kami ... she's crazy!"

It was believed craziness is caused by the gods themselves, so crazy people, just like children and old people, were allowed some special privileges.

"She is also Christian, so I order you to convert at once!" The old man laughed at some amusement only he saw patting the sword at his side. "Those priests have been meddling in our affairs too long and I still don't have a single Christian spy."

Taken aback, Ranma stared at Happosai openly now, ordered to be a Christian? He didn't understand them with all their silly laws and doctrines. It could be a good tactical move, but he didn't know if he could follow the religion. "In fact I have ordered your sister Nabiki to convert at the same as you do as well."

Ranma gulped. 'Nabiki was ordered as well? The Old Man's mind was moving again. 'What is he up to?'

"But taking Kodachi won't solve all your problems." The old man cringed, as if he remembered something foul. "She is a rotten one, that girl, and not as virtuous as she seems. But ... you are given a choice after all. That rotten attitude of hers will keep **all** the girls away."

"If you marry her I'll increase your fief to twenty ri around Nerima, which will include Rose Brier at that stretch." The ri was a measurement of distance, its equivalent was what was given to lords as weight in rice for payment for protection. Twenty ri was a lot to give to a newly minted lord.

The old man gave him a few days to think, but it was obvious that the matter was decided even before he was called out to the donjon. That decision would doom him forever. A few days later, Kodachi became his bride.

He was bitter, but he convinced himself that he was as happy as he was ever going to be with his life.

The only comfort he has was the Art. Thank God for that, he'd thought more than once. Unlike many of his fellow samurai, whose wives held the purse strings and has little to do with the family fortune, Ranma was the one who did **that** part of the marriage as well, with help from Nabiki of course. He could do without family life. A lot of samurai did.

Without warning, the image of his sister, Nabiki and her son leaped into his head. Nabiki was just as unlucky as he was: after a miscarriage and giving birth to a son, her husband almost killed her for a crime she didn't commit.

She now lived on his estate, but far enough from the main house not bother Kodachi. He was thankful for Nabiki and her son's company though. If not for them, he would be far more bitter and lonely than he already was.

Although Ranma wasn't tired from carrying Kodachi when he reached the house Sasuke met him at the door. The short ninja was a kuroki, a protector, as Sasuke would like to think, and Ranma let him to believe.

Upstanding men never employed the Stealthy Ones as a rule. They were treacherous and deceitful most of the time, but the Kunos felt that a ninja would keep Kodachi at bay and could keep track of her actions better than any other samurai could. Ranma petitioned the case up to Happosai who shrugged and agreed to let Ranma employ his services as long he kept the true nature of the short man to himself and to a few chosen people.

He raised his eyebrow when he saw the blood on Kodachi's head though didn't offer to take Ranma's burden, as doing so would be discourteous and be offending. Ranma, followed by Sasuke, brought Kodachi to her room and deposited her on her futon.

She tossed her head of dark curls and moaned as she again opened her eyes. The man from the field was standing back, his arms crossed as he looked down with no emotion.

oOo

"I fainted," she said, as she looked around taking in the frills, the bleakness and darkness of the room, and the black trimmed, gray furniture. "This... is the darkest bleakest room I've ever seen. And stop looking at me as if I were crazy every time I open my mouth! Honestly!" She then shut her mouth as she realized the design might have been done by one of the men standing in front of her.

"Kodachi, you fell from that horse. You hit your head. It's making you act strange. I'm just reacting to a sick wife."

"Wife!" 'Kami,' Akane thought, 'this is worse than I imagined.'

* * *

**Footnotes:**

I tried to remove as much footnotes as I could from the chapter by explaining it in the chapter itself. Regardless, I left the footnotes here so that people who want to browse could browse.

(1) Why does Kodachi have a **foster mother **when her parents were STILL alive? Well that's because important samurai let foster mothers take care of their children while they can focus on new matters...further explained in Chapter 3 :)

(2) **Donjon**: central main building of a Japanese Castle. Happosai's main donjon is in Edo. Which most people know now to be Tokyo.

(3) Why is Ranma asking for **seppuku**? Well he feels he has dishonored the Saotome name by having multiple fiancées he doesn't plan to keep.

In the earlier days, you weren't allowed to commit seppuku if the head of the clan or your liege lord (generally someone higher up) doesn't permit you to. It strips off the giving back of honor seppuku is supposed to give, although you can commit seppuku if you're about to be captured by your enemy. Seppuku's an honor.

(4)What does **touched by the Kami **mean? They believed craziness is caused by the gods themselves, so crazy people, just like children and old people were allowed some special privileges, another reason why Kodachi can't be killed off.

(5) Why was Ranma ordered to convert to **Christianity**? Well then, that's Happosai for you :) although this may be another tactical advancement it's also for Kodachi who's also Christian :)hehehehe I love irony... anyway...Christianity came with the Portuguese and the Fathers have churches on Japan (in the late 1600's they'll close the doors to all foreign people and such and boot out the priests and Christianity and order everyone back to Buddhism)

(6) A **ri** is roughly equivalent to a mile.

(7) What's a **kuroki**? Well if taken literally it means black something. Also is a servant clad in black :)Generally guys who were servants to all these big mansions in Japan.

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Ranma 1/2 and the book I based it from is When there is Hope, and if you sue me you can't possibly get money from me.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **

Ryoga doesn't have a curse because Ranma isn't living in the present, (not that, that hinders Ryoga to wander in the pool of drowned pig but...

Ryoga, Akane's husband? Well, there's no Ranma, who do you think she'll fall for Kuno? Okay so Shin-boy's an option... I can't work with all the options :p Okay so technically she couldn't meet up with Ryoga without Ranma... but he gets lost a lot it's a wacky world.

Why is Happosai the head of the Saotome Clan? Well, after thinking about possible candidates, (namely, Ranma, Genma, Nodoka, Ranko, Nabiki) My sister and I thought bout this change... well, we can't have Ranma because we need a counter balance of things he needs someone to order him to marry Kodachi in the first place :).

Genma isn't a possibility because we all know how stupid the patriarch of the Saotome household is, the Saotomes would never survive the beginnings of the Tokugawa Era :) (which begins around 1603 according to my history book) and medieval Japan (Era before Tokugawa)

Hokey, another chapter converted from its idiot beginnings as an almost lift from When there is Hope to a new revision.

iCe

* * *

**Revision History:  
**11/17/10 - converted from version 2.2 to version 3.  
04/02/06 - common errors in the english language  
01/14/06 - punctuation (quotation) and tense (had) revision  
10/18/05 - grammar revision  
05/29/03 - grammar and some of the reasons of Nabiki's presence.

* * *

**Special Thanks to:**  
MJ, Maurice Phillip, Tin and Angel, Anno Nimus, Jourdan Bickham, Byooki Desu, khymchanur

And to the person reading this.

* * *

**website: **ice _dot _esmartdesign _dot _com (largely defunct and old... with lots of populs... go to livejournal instead)  
**email**: siuane _at_ gmail _dot_ com  
**livejournal**: ice _underscore_ of _underscore _dreams

* * *

I write when the spirit moves, and I make sure it moves every day. unknown


	3. Part 2 : February

**Revision notes:  
**11/20/10 – fixed the shifting perspective. Shifted from angels to shinigami. A good deal of re-write.

AND I really have to say, I am getting FRUSTRATED with formatting here in FF.N it strips CENTER. of all things. If you want better formatting, please go to archiveofourown. org.

* * *

Marriage at best is but a vow,  
Which all men either break or bow.  
**Samuel Butler**  
_The Lady's Answer to the Knight_

* * *

**Rendezvous with Fate V.3  
**by iCe  
Chapter 2

_...It turns out I was married to this brute named Ranma Saotome. He was completely awful to me... _

* * *

There was blood everywhere, and he'd felt her skin slide over her skull, much like when she'd been told to remove the skin of a chicken when she'd been learning to cook when she was young. The blood, she'd dealt with easily, with as much martial arts she was surrounded with growing up, it was common place to see that much blood, and it was a head wound, it was bound to bleed until someone could sew it properly.

What bothered her more was that it shouldn't have been possible for her to be quite lucid with that much blood loss and with a gaping wound on her head. A wound that with a little close scrutiny, Akane was sure would show skull. She was becoming distressed and more as she noted the costumes that the people were wearing. They were mostly working class kimonos that she'd seen in ryokans, but there was something a little off with the colors and the style. Some of the other men were wearing swords, and she was sure that no matter how formal this inn was, no one was supposed to be wearing **swords** in broad daylight. It was like she'd been dropped in the middle of a historical play, and everyone had been given grand costumes - except her black and dreary kimono.

Sge saved from commenting when what she presumed to be a doctor swept into the room, cutting where their conversation was going.

"She says she can't remember anything," Ranma informed Doctor Kinzaki as the young doctor walked towards Akane. He was a thin, youngish man, with a smooth face and a receding hairline. His kind and intelligent eyes, and soothing manner, were a lot of help in calming Akane down. It also helped that his personality reminded her somewhat of her sister's husband.

She gazed in wonder at the doctor, a house call in the middle of the day. Something that usually only the rich could afford. She had wondered briefly why she wasn't brought to a hospital, but usually with martial arts families, they had their own doctors that would come and visit.

"My lady, I am Doctor Kinzaki. I'm here to examine you," he introduced himself as he came closer. It was the first time she noticed the long gash on her head, and the blood that had seeped through stop-gap bandages that they had wrapped around it. "How do you feel? Do you remember what happened before the fall? Did you lose consciousness immediately after? Did you vomit?"

"She vomited and fainted five minutes ago," Ranma answered for her ignoring her disbelieving look.

"You couldn't walk that long a distance in five minutes!" Akane said out loud as the doctor felt around her wound. The wound felt numb to deep and light touch, but there was a small when the doctor re-explored the wound, as if her flesh had parted. The examination of the doctor caused black spots to re-appear in her field of vision. She felt faint and light headed. The doctor removed layers upon layers of cloth mixed with the deep red stain of blood, something that Akane hadn't noticed. She lost some sense of time when she had fainted. She didn't even realize that someone stopped her bleeding before hand.

Ranma gave her another one of his gazes. She seemed to be receiving a lot of those from him. "You know well enough I could have crossed that in one."

"The bleeding is bad, but that's to be expected from head wounds," the doctor confirmed her initial assessment, effectively stopping the fight. "There seems to be a hairline fracture. Regardless, we can't do anything for skull fractures other than careful monitoring."

"Fractured? Am I bleeding inside?" Akane asked horrified. She didn't know what happens with skull fractures. Her face had been spared, so mostly it was the head, and there were no operations for that unless she was bleeding looked at the doctor then his clothes. She looked at the seemingly **very** traditional house that still used futons for beds and then at idea suddenly struck her. It did not seem possible, but then, after all that she just went through, just about anything could happen. "What year is it?" she asked, afraid of what the answer could be, her heart beating painfully in her chest.

"I should be asking you those kinds of questions, my lady. What year do you think it is?" The kind doctor smiled at her reassuringly as he smoothed back her hair, which she had noticed to be sticky with what had to be blood.

"1999?" At their blank and bewildered looks she tried again, "The tenth year of Heisei?"

The doctor nodded in reassurance then covered her head with the bandages again, wiping his bloody hands against one of the rags. Akane tried stared in morbid fascination. There was so much blood. She'd noticed she was bleeding, yes, and she noted that she had bled a lot, but she hadn't thought it was that much. "It's the Year of the Dragon in the Fifth Year of the Keichou. Today is Risshun. Could you tell me where you are?"

She let out a small groan of displeasure. Risshun was the traditional name for the fourth of February. Enough poem readings in high school taught her about the traditional name for the beginning of spring. The Era year of Keicho was from 1596 to 1695, and the fifth year would land exactly on 1600. If she remembered correctly the current reigning emperor was Go-Mizunoo. "Uh, Edo?" Akane hazarded a guess. She had been in Tokyo when she fell, surely at least Edo, the old Tokyo name should be familiar.

"We're at the border of the Tokaido region, which is Saotome land. Specifically we're in Sagami, your husband's fief. This is the Rose Brier estate in the city of Kamakura," Dr. Kinzaki supplied, looking at her with renewed interest. "Your husband's main donjon is located in Nerima. This is a summer house of sorts."

Tokaido, or the east sea way, was one of the eight great subdividing circuits of the country. Sagami was an old province name, before the prefecture system was established. It was an area that would roughly be Kanagawa in current day Japan, not precisely where she had been in last. 'This is worse than I thought.'

Akane repeated it slowly, again and again, disbelieving it and yet... she sighed. She knew nothing of feudal Japan, nothing! She only has the fleeting memories of her high school history lessons. And furthermore, Japan's history was clouded in myths, legends and more myths, rendering anything she **did** remember from high school useless to her. She suddenly wished for a crash course. Bringing her back to the present would be better.

"Do you remember your name?" Doctor Kinzaki asked kindly.

"Akane," she answered promptly, and there was a loud disbelieving snort coming from her husband. "I'm really not Kodachi," she couldn't really expect anyone to understand a situation that she didn't understand either. "Could you please not call me that? Kodachi sounds well... deadly," Akane observed as she thought about the short swords his wife was named after. And since their entire culture didn't use more than one name, it was no use asking if she had a second name. "Could you read the characters of her name differently?"

Ranma and considered the question for a moment, then his scowl deepened. "No." He gave a grim smile that told her he clearly thought her name suited her perfectly. Akane couldn't even make a nickname out of Kodachi, except by adding honorifics to the end. Ko-chan just sounded juvenile on someone her age. "And you want to be called... Akane." At the mention of her real name, Akane noticed that Ranma tensed.

"Hmmm..." The doctor thought a moment then looked at her to ask questions, "Lady Kodachi, you are not oriented to neither time, nor place. Do you know who this man is?"

"He said he's my husband. I really don't know him," she confessed as she looked at Ranma.

Ranma rolled his eyes in disbelief. Doctor Kinzaki just ignored the argument between the husband and wife while he cleaned her wound. "This is Ranma-sama. He is the Lord of Sagami." Then he prepared a needle and thread.

"I'm going to be sewn here?" she protested, eyeing the needle. She was currently feeling numb but she knew that the fall must have been bad for her skin to feel like it was peeling off of her skull. She would have protested more but she swayed and then slipped into unconsciousness.

oOo

After the doctor finished his job, he motioned to Ranma and moved into the hallway, closing the door behind them. "She's really rather... feisty." He chuckled then went right to the point. "It looks like a serious injury, Saotome-sama. The fracture is linear and not depressed, a good sign, it means that the underlying structures would not have been damaged. Regardless, head injuries are very varied, Saotome-sama. There are people whose skulls I have seen with plenty of blood and gashes and walk away without care, and some who looks normal only to die after a while." Ranma felt the doctor gauge his reaction, but his face had fallen to the flat mask of disregard. It had been bad between him and Kodachi for ages, and he couldn't muster enough sympathy to care. "I do believe that your wife sustained an injury enough to kill her, but her being touched by the Kami itself must be true. I would advise close supervision for the first twenty-four sticks (1). Her breathing sounds regular and deep, but if she falls into a deep sleep, she might not wake up from it. There still remains the possibility that Kodachi-sama will die."

When Ranma saw Kodachi fall, she was too far away for him to catch her. But it might not have mattered, he had not wanted to. He gave her specific instructions not to jump the horse and she disobeyed him. It was supposed to be a lesson. Kodachi knew how to fall, gracefully at that. He had not been worried.

The accident replayed over his mind: as she was thrown into the air by the frightened horse he saw her start to alter her movements so she would safely land on her feet, a move he knew she mastered since childhood. Then something went wrong. It was as if she stopped at the turning point of the jump, when she was still headfirst to the ground. That was when she landed, head-first.

The doctor's words snapped him out of that as he said, "The first six hours are the golden period. We would see if she lapses into a coma or not. I expect swelling, maybe fever. She may act differently, she may rant and rave and take out restraints placed on her. She would be combative. This is normal for patients with severe head wounds. I would suggest you call a priest and the family who would want to see her." Ranma noted that the doctor was used to giving the dire prognosis. He regarded Ranma with cool professionalism and just a touch of sorrow. Ranma wondered if that small sympathy would have remained if the doctor truly knew who Kodachi was. "If she survives the first six hours, we should still observe her for a few months, maybe for the entire year. Bleeding from the brain can sometimes be very small and leaking continously. Even if she gets better, an internal bleed might suddenly creep up and kill her."

"She seems to have had a very vivid dream a hallucination regarding this - Akane. She looks like she truly believes that she is not Kodachi-sama and is in fact Akane. My initial assessment of the memory lapse is amnesia. I couldn't perform a full exam because she fainted, so I will check later. The memory loss is not uncommon for her type of injury. If she survives, I could recommend that she be sent back to her Kuno-sama, but I suggest you have patience with her. In most cases, memory returns within some sticks. Some within days, but there are rare cases that it will not. I'll stay for a few sticks, and then one of my lord's servants can take care of her. We can make a more thorough assessment when she can talk. "

Kodachi had given him an impatient look when they were discussing her condition. Kodachi had always been impatient and had a very short rein on her temper. Ranma was sure she would stop pretending when it suited her and begin ranting when that didn't help. Ranma listened impassively to what the doctor's droning. Though he showed no emotion, the diagnosis affected him, he told the doctor, "I'll expect you to be here on call, doctor. See to it that she gets cared for. I'll tell Nabiki what happened."

oOo

Akane slipped in and out of consciousness and did not recognize anyone except the doctor. Not once did she see Ranma to tend to her. In her feverish daze, she did manage to talk to a red-haired woman who had been about to blow out the lantern lighting her room. Apparently, she had been watching her sleep. "Tired," she barely managed to say. She could not force all the words out of her mouth.

"Rest," she ordered curtly as she put a wet towel atop Akane's forehead. "You are in no condition to go mumbling out your tirades."

The girl did not care to hide that she did not like to spend time with her patient. Akane felt her displeasure as much as she did the pain of her head. Though she wanted to follow the woman's curt advice, she placed her hand on her wrist and croaked out, "Do you hate me too?"

The woman raised her eyebrows, looked at the hand restraining her, thought for a second then replied, "You are not in a position to ask."

Akane faded into unconsciousness again. That was all she could ever recall of those four days, rising halfway to wakefulness before slipping back down into the blackness, over and over, and the blurry images of those who came to watch over her. On the fifth day, she woke feeling like she came out of hibernation and stretched her muscles out. Looking around the room, another wave of panic engulfed her. 'It wasn't a dream!' she thought as her eyes touched on every detestable piece of furniture and color in the room.

She sat up gingerly, afraid that the movement would set off a giant headache but was surprised to find out she felt none. As she looked at the spacious room, the bright windows on either side of her futon caught her eye laying golden rectangles across the silken rug.

Bringing her knees up, she rested her arms on them, and was surprised when she found them not her own. It was then that what happened to her dawned on her fully: she completely changed. She was given a stranger's body.

Her skin which once was golden because of her daily runs was now Kodachi's delicate, fragile and almost pale against the white linen. At least her hair didn't change much: before, when the sun shone off it, it would show streaks of blue, but now it was just completely black. As she looked down, some of the curls fell forward. 'Another surprise' she thought as she brought her hand up to them, as if testing them. With her hands she explored her face, wincing when she touched the wound. She had the urge to look at herself in the mirror to see what kind of face stared back.

She sat up and took into account her body. Because she was a martial artist, she had been taught since she was young the consequences of falls like the one Kodachi suffered. A head-wound was to be avoided at all costs. She moved her hands and her feet, both protested from brief muscle sprain, but were moving at her commands. She reassured herself that she could feel well enough from all her limbs, and that they were working properly before she tried to stand up.

She moved out of the futon and then winced. She was off balance, mostly because she suddenly had big breasts, big thighs and big arms. She had been lithe and agile in her own body, and this one felt slow and sluggish. Surprisingly when she tried to stretch out the kinks on her back, she noticed that at least, this body was flexible. She realized that she was off balance, not because of any problems with her brain, but rather, just that she had just been granted a different body to work with. She was expecting muscled, strong and compact, but she was given large, flexible and voluptuous.

Padding across the tatami, Akane went over to a beautiful cherry-wood full-length mirror and stood there, staring at herself. Long, curling black hair fell from a high-set ponytail, while her face held a little nose and a full pair of lips. The doctor hadn't shaved off all of the glorious hair, but there was a small part that was bandaged. It left some part of her face down to her forehead and her eye extremely swollen, so she couldn't appreciate Kodachi's looks. Akane covered the edematous half of her face and looked at the pretty girl that stared back. Kodachi was dainty, and pretty if a little bit on the plump side. She had been put in a dark black yukata stitched meticulously with black roses that it was almost unseen in all that unrelieved black.

Akane wondered how much training in martial arts she'd have to undergo again for her mind to get used to this body and treat it like second skin. She briefly wondered what her duties in the house were, wondering if the man had told her about it.

'That man!' she thought suddenly. "Oh, Kami-sama, I hope I don't have to sleep with him!" Closing her eyes, she took a deep, calming breath and tried to picture his face. Blue eyes, angry and cold, flashed back into her mind. She tried to think of something positive but the only thing she could come up with was that he was handsome.

'Ranma and Kodachi probably had an omiai gone badly. But he had wealth and position,' she thought as she looked at the richly, if badly decorated room. She was about to examine her face closer when a woman came in, all dressed in black. "Hello," she offered in greeting to the woman. After all, she needed her friends right now. And she hardly knew where she was.

"Kodachi-sama! I thought you were asleep," she said with obvious unease. "I am Ifuku, your personal maid."

Akane watched as the maid approached with light-footed steps. She was soft-spoken and motherly, even though she looked like she was just barely out of her twenties, dressed in a black kimono as most household servants were prone to be during the time. Light-skinned, with large brown expressive eyes and almost fey-like, it was a wonder that she was a servant; she could almost pass for a noble herself. Her long brown hair was curled tightly in a no-nonsense bun that most of the servants employed. Akane answered the maid with a smile, "I'm all right, but starved."

"I'll have Sara bring your food here," Ifuku informed her. Akane paused for a moment at the name, thinking it was Western, but corrected herself since she was in the past. The old government had mostly an isolationist tack, so it would be unusual for a woman to be named similar to a gaijin. There probably wouldn't be even characters for the roman words.

'But the only other "sara" I know is another word for tray,' Akane thought. After awhile, Akane finally realized that she meant 'sara' meaning 'tray' as a person and not the object walking up the stairs. "But," Akane started. She really wanted to see the house. "I'll just take it in the kitchen."

"We could section one of the rooms near the kitchen and serve you there. We could move the walls and make a three tatami room, would that be enough?" the woman suggested. She was very uncomfortable now, as if the suggestion would forfeit her life. She was obviously horrified at the thought of a lady eating food in the kitchen. The kitchen, as a rule, was limited to the servants.

"Ahh, would that be too much trouble?" Akane asked, the walls were easily movable, but for larger meals, they would probably have set aside a larger room which could be converted into a meeting room of sorts. Castles rooms were quite fluid, especially since the inner walls were detachable. Akane followed the maid to what seemed like a closet.

Ifuku helped her into a huge, low-cut kimono which, like everything else in her wardrobe, was black, and piled over endless layers. Some of the clothes had flashier colors, but Akane shied away from those. She was married, and it was going to be a grave insult if she wore the flashier kimonos. This brought her to wonder how Kodachi had gotten away with wearing them in the first place.

Akane became uncomfortable at the fact that someone else was dressing her but Ifuku put her at ease. Especially since Akane couldn't possibly dress the kimono by herself. She had worn yukatas before, for festivals, but the kimono was another thing all together. The obi tying alone was terrifying her. And the layers were bound to keep her guessing. When they were finished, Akane felt overburdened with all the cloth. She hadn't worn this much layers in a kimono since her wedding. And that had been a Western style dress! The kimono hampered too much of her movement and was made up of too many parts for her to just move in, especially because there were laces tied in the knees. Maybe if her mother had lived, she would have learned how to dress with the traditional clothes. As it was though, it was hopeless.

Akane looked out the door, pleasantly surprised to see that the hallways looked better than her room. She smiled at Ifuku. "Sorry, Ifuku, could you show me around the house?"

The maid nodded, in agreement, and did not show the bewilderment of leading her mistress around the house which she lived in since late childhood. The servants were well trained and followed orders. "Of course, my lady. Saotome-sama has informed the household of your condition."

The hallway that leads away from her room was made of dark wooden panels with big polished floors that shone brightly. The usual sliding windows were in place, barred with square shapes. The hall stretched in both directions, and at the end a large window had been thrown open to let the light through in the warm colors of yellow and orange.

Oil lanterns were hung outside each shoji, decorated with an exquisite hand of nature. Dark moldings in the same rich hinoki(2) wood that bordered the ceilings bordered the shoji. The corridors and the rooms were richly carpeted with tatami, soft and kind to the feet. It was of the best quality, more than an inch thick and flawless. Ifuku waved her hand towards the large rooms. "This is mostly what is partitioned for the bedrooms. The floor below is what is partitioned for hearings and parties."

"Ranma-sama's room is at the farthest end of this hall. It faces the water so that it would be more difficult to reach in an attack." She waved her hands at the direction of the shoji that probably led to her husband's room. "Sometimes, when we're in battle, the rooms are shifted and re-shifted. It's procedure, my lady. (3)"

They walked around the house as Ifuku showed her the area. Rose Brier in itself was large; it had an entire section that was almost a hundred tatami size wide, which could be partitioned into almost twenty-four rooms with shoji. However, there were several permanent rooms: a library and the kitchen were among them. There was a separate tea house for the Cha-no-yu or the formalized tea ceremony, a dojo and a separate lodging for samurai who were on duty. Most of the rooms were not touched with accessories, giving the house a casual air despite its elegance, the beautiful shoji walls, the nice carve of the ceiling design and the trim were constant.

Finally, they walked out to the garden-cliff, which overlooked the expanse of endless blue, with waves crashing against hard rock. The rocks tapered off to a small sandy beach far off to the side. "This is a great view." She loved the water, though she could not understand why, since try as she might, she simply could not swim. She loved its uncertainty, its moods, so to speak. So far, this was her dream turned real, a mansion by the sea. She'd been angry at the pig, which she named P-chan. Perhaps P-chan knew what he was doing after all. He at least gave her some compensation.

The maid, attentive to Akane's interest and trained well as a personal servant told Akane what she was seeing, "It's Sagami Bay, my lady. That land there is O-shima, part of the Izu peninsula."

At least that set her location in her head. They were near the North Pacific and Tokyo. She couldn't wait to tell Ryoga of all her adventures. Suddenly, she felt a tightening of her chest. It had been a silly wish, to tell Ryoga. This wasn't just some grand adventure; she had been thrown back in time. She had a different husband, and she couldn't just add another landmark to Ryoga's ever confused sense of directions. She followed Ifuku with a heavy heart. She had lived all her life with her father, in their dojo. It hadn't been a small house, with three rooms an entire court yard and the dojo itself. But Rose Brier was simply larger, almost the size of an innermost castle keep, the donjon. However, since it was only two floors, it remained simply, a well fortified rest house.

Rose Brier was built into almost a structure of a castle town. The main house, was at the far end of the cliff, its side bordered by the bay and the cliff's edge. Surrounding it in increasing increments was a town, where the samurai who were off duty were residing. There were no walls, because this was just some fishing village that Ranma spent his summer in. Most of the main fortifications and his keep, from what Akane understood with Ifuku's explanation, were in Nerima.

When they were about to move towards the dojo, they passed by a row of samurai out in the other end of what seemed to be training grounds, almost near the dojo. They were being talked to by a woman dressed in an exquisite kimono, topped with what she would later learn to be Ranma's crest, three triangles: the uppermost standing on the tip of two other triangles which formed its base. She had her hair in the usual style Ranma kept his, in a long braid that trailed behind her back. Unusual since most ladies in court put up more ornaments in their hair and styled it lavishly. Ifuku bowed to the woman in respect when they walked near, and the woman gave a small nod in return.

"That was Nabiki-sama, my lady," Ifuku informed Akane when they were out of hearing shot. "She is a Saotome samurai, a hatamoto and twin to the heir, my lady. She also runs the house." A job should be mainly in the hands of the wife. Akane paused thoughtfully at that, wondering what caused these responsibilities to be handed over.

When they reached the dojo with its beautiful wooden panels, the takonama was there with an ikebana arrangement of a black rose standing on the pile of red rocks. (4) The perimeter was circled by immaculate white rocks that contrasted the raven rose. There was some side rooms to the dojo which contained the weapons, and shoji doors pulled aside for spectators to watch a fight if need be. Akane smiled as she breathed it in. "A dojo. I can practice katas here for days."

Her heart constricted, as memories assailed her again. Before she married, she had trained in her father's dojo. When she married Ryoga, she started going on his innumerable training trips, getting lost with him in Hokkaido, only to find out that they were in fact in Fukuoka. There was no point in trying to correct his sense of directions. It was utterly hopeless. And getting lost with him was part of the adventure. When she thought of 'husband' Ryoga came to mind, and Ranma, although looked similar to Ryoga was a completely different person.

Ifuku looked like she wanted to say something, but firmly held her mouth closed.

"This is the main room?" Akane asked as she touched the flower arrangement held in a low shelf arranged beautifully framing a small scroll. It was the household takonama. It was a wife's duty to make the arrangement for the takonama... if she didn't do it then she wondered who did. The woman in kimono flashed against her mind's eye, someone who held the samurai's respect. Something she wouldn't know how to do.

"Maybe it's time for you to eat, my lady." The change in topic was abrupt, and Akane wondered if it was because of her interest in the takonama or because of her presence in the dojo. From the minute they stepped into it, Ifuku had showed some unease. Ifuku looked at her, and then slowly suggested, "You haven't eaten solid food in a while, so perhaps it might make you feel like your usual self."

Akane looked towards the direction of the inner house, and then sighed. It looked like Ifuku was starting to get uncomfortable with the tour. "I'll look at the dojo more some other time. Thank you, Ifuku."

By the time Ifuku led her to the room that the servants prepared for her meal, Ifuku was wide-eyed and almost open-mouthed. Kodachi-sama never thanked any of the house help. She thought that the compensation of her lodging and "protection" was enough for them. Furthermore, she never addressed them by their given names. The sudden friendly demeanor and small-talk was a drastic change.

Another maid, also dressed in black, brought her platter after platter of dishes: rice, soups and fish; it went on and on. After she was finished serving, Akane turned to her.

"What's your name?" Akane asked, shocked at the frightened look of the young girl.

"Sara, Kodachi-sama," she answered shakily.

"Will I be eating alone?" Akane asked, gesturing to the food that could easily feed ten starving men. "We don't have any... children ... do we?"

"Alone, my lady," the servant replied.

Akane almost gave a visible sigh of relief at that. "I'll just have onigiri for breakfast, maybe some pickled vegetables, if that's all right. And coffee. I'll be down at five o'clock in the morning. I don't really have a large unending appetite as you seem to think I have."

"I am sorry, Ko- Akane-sama, but I do not know what 'coffee' is. And what is this seven o'clock?" Sara tested the unknown words in her mouth.

Akane almost groaned but stopped herself in time. Of course they didn't know that! It was a western idea, a western breakfast that she was used to having after Kasumi married and she was left to her own devices. Her cooking skills have never been good. And the time... she didn't know how people told time. She hoped she remembered enough of the zodiac times to translate it with the two hour segments that she knew from history. "Ahh... well, rice and just one of the dishes, OK? And tea. My meal will be served early in the morning, the hour o the hare. Just before dawn."

She nodded, satisfied that matter of her morning meals was straightened out, but that worried about the issue of children. Akane wished she has children. Unless, of course, Ranma has children with other women... but then...

When she returned her attention to the food, she ran a mental list of things to do. She still has a lot of things left to finish. She cursed the shinigami who sent her to this century, particularly that little black pig. She needed to make the best of the situation before her, and that would require making friends with that idiot of a husband. She cursed the pig again for good measure.

* * *

**Disclaimer**: _Ranma 1/2 _was borrowed from the brilliant mind of Rumiko Takahashi. The book this was based of was _When there is Hope_.

* * *

******Special Thanks to:  
**

MJ, Maurice Phillip, Tony Loco , Tin and Angel, Jourdan Bickham, Jose Aragao, Byooki Desu, Anno Nimus, C. Jones, Richard Robinson, David Bateson, David Stanley, Jitou,King Chan, Lawrence Chu, Bert Miller, The Dragonbard, Darthcwader1, Erin, Outlawone1, David Calvarese, Larry F, khymchanur

**And to the person reading this.**

* * *

**Author's notes:**

I noticed a lot of medical inconsistency in the beginning of the head wound. I wrote this when I knew NOTHING about medicine, and re-wrote it now that I do. So let me just say that hair line fractures, there's nothing to do there. Depressed fractures are different. Head wounds can be a little traumatic due to all of the blood though. Which was lacking in chapter one... because I already mentioned that Akane was being spacey. I also didn't notice the medical discrepancy until AFTER I uploaded chapter one.

I rewrote a lot of the scenes here. The chapter parallels When there is Hope, since the earlier parts are a meld, as most of those who followed the original story know. Go read and buy that book.

Was **amnesia **a known illness at that particular time? To be honest, I don't really know, but the Eastern countries have proven to be far more advanced in medicine than any of the Western countries, so it is possible they know this ailment, but not to term it 'amnesia'. Still for plot purposes, it's amnesia.

This revision Nov 2006 marks the beginning of my de-footnoting revisions. Less numbers in the pages means less unsightly breaks in the text. If the explanation is unnecessary for the story flow or could be explained in the main body, then a footnote was taken out. However, since it's mostly historical and Japanese some terms which don't have English equivalents were retained.

If you didn't know, originally this was set in the 1600's Virginia etc etc (because it was based in When there is Hope). However I brought on the challenge of changing it into 1600's Japan to add difference because it ran so much like the original book. (I had to research a lot). Anyway, that is the reason why there is a discrepancy on the dojo scene with Akane looking on the dojo. Although the description of the dojo was added, mostly Akane was saying she was looking at a library which threw off the entire sequence. I fixed that.

iCe

* * *

**Endnotes:**

**Japanese Year Eras, old names: **copied down word per word from _Shogun_by James Clavell (which might have a lot of embellishment... since it is fiction):

All years were chosen by the ruling Emperor. A catastrophe or a godsend might end an era or begin one, at his whim. Scholars were ordered to select a name of a particularly good omen from the ancient books of China for a new era that might last a year or fifty years.

Each year was given a number as well as a nameone of the same succession as the hours of the day. The first year of the Tensho had fallen on the year of the cock, so it followed that 1576 was the year of the Rat in the Fourth Year of Tensho.

Initially I placed 1600's as the year of the Tensho. With the advent of the year 2006, and more importantly Wikipedia I finally found reference to Japanese era names. 1600's is the year of the Dragon in the Fifth Year of the Keichou.

The fifth year of the Keichou also marks the battle of Sekigahara clearing the path for the Shogunate of Tokugawa Ieyasu. We are not delving into real history politics here, therefore the Sekigahara Battle is nonexistent in my text.

(1) A **stick **is how they measured time. It is a rough estimate on how long an incense stick burns which is roughly equivalent to an hour. I still refer to 'hours' when it's the narration though.

(2) **Hinok**i: Japanese cypress, the best is often used in shrine architecture.

(3) **Shoji**... um paper doors, if you don't know them, slide in and out of place. In the hot summer days, most move it out of the house to let the cool air come in. When an important daimyo came to town, they rearranged the shoji so the daimyo has the center and biggest room of the house.

They also rearrange the rooms when there is a perceived attack, so that the attackers don't know where the daimyo is.

(4) What's a **takonama**? It's this small alcove in the main room where they place the flower arrangement and a scroll hanging, usually where the swords of a samurai of the house were placed.

**Ikebana **? The art of flower arranging grouped into four kinds (to which I will not delve into in the moment). The goal is to arrange the flowers to represent heaven, earth and humanity. Proficiency in the arts improve marriage prospects for the ladies.

* * *

Meaning of Names:

**Kinzaki**: 'Golden seated heart'. For the first time, I'm not taking the blame for this name, because this one just popped out of my head. Really. Oh yeah, and doctors are allowed to have nice names too. :)

kin: gold  
za: seat  
ki: heart, mind, spirit, feelings

Seravants aren't allowed to have good names, so anwyay they have names of the things that they currently serve... soo it follows that...

**Sara:** although it does seam English, it's Japanese, it means dish, plate or tray. (whichever you prefer still suits my needs)

**Ifuku**: dress, clothes.

**Intial references**:

_Shogun_: Minor details. Hey, it's useful.  
_Kasaysayan ng Mundo [World history]_: OK so it's my second year text book. So what I'm 15 I'm gonna be a senior, where else will I get it?  
_Webster's Dictionary_: Now you know why I sound like a dictionary  
_Japan Hanbook_: Little ittie bittie info I could never do without  
_Wikipedia_: VERY INVALUABLE source of information. You learn everything in Wikipedia

_Yoshino Newsletter: _Elements of a traditional Japanese Interior; Time in old Japan  
_Great Buildings: _Pictures of castles, so I can describe the interiors  
_Japan Guide: _Castle structures and castle towns. homaru, ninomaru and sannomaru.

I've also been to a Japanese castle twice, as a tourist two years ago.

All other little ittie bittie info I find will be stated in the endnotes.

If you don't read endnotes, well that's fine with me also. :)

There, now we're finished :)

* * *

**Revision Notes:**

11/22/06 – fixed the Japanese era names, fixed old Japanese provinces names. Some sentence flow  
04/02/06 – common grammatical errors in the English language**  
**01/14/06 – punctuation revision, revised hads**  
**10/18/05 – grammar  
06/25/03 – fixed discrepancy over scene with Akane looking over the dojo. Added some descriptive lines and fixed the punctuation.  
12/25/02 – grammar

* * *

**website: **ice _dot_esmartdesign _dot _com (largely defunct. I suggest livejournal or the best place to be right now... archive of our own)  
**e-mail**: siuane _at_gmail _dot _com  
**livejournal**: ice _underscore_ of _underscore_ dreams

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I write when the spirit moves, and I make sure it moves every day.


	4. Part 3 : April

**Revision History:  
** 04/02/06 – common mistakes in the English language  
01/14/06 - punctuation revision, revised hads  
10/18/05 - not so minor grammar  
10/13/03 - minor grammar  
12/25/01 - minor grammar

* * *

**Special Thanks to:  
**MJ, Maurice Phillip, Tony Loco , Tin and Angel, Jourdan Bickham, Jose Aragao, Byooki Desu, Anno Nimus, C. Jones Richard, Robinson, David Bateson, David Stanley, Jitou,King Chan, Lawrence Chu, Bert Miller, The Dragonbard, Darthcwader1, Erin, Outlawone1, David Calvarese, Larry F

And to the person reading this.

* * *

**Little note before you start anything: **

This chapter is contains some mature concepts. Implied adultery and bastards type mature.

Ranma, Ranko and Nabiki... Nabiki in her cursed form will be referred to as Nabiki-kun in scenes that show the perspective of people who know about the Jusenkyo curse. (Ranma-chan in Ranma's case). When this is shown in Akane's point-of view, Ranma will be called Ranko and Nabiki will be called Ranma. I hope this doesn't cause confusion.

I only do this in the FIRST paragraph. After the initial paragraph, they are referred to as Ranma and Nabiki (even though they are cursed) since it's narration and Ranma-chan and Nabiki-kun isn't really good for the flow.

I also switch from gender to gender in the middle sometimes. (Arghh sorry, sometimes Ranma gets referred to as he when in cursed form and Nabiki gets referred to as she in cursed form.) Please tell me when you spot this as it's an honest mistake

* * *

A whisper, and then a silence,  
Yet I know by their merry eyes,  
They are plotting and planning together  
To take me by surprise.  
**Henry ** **Wadsworth**** Longfellow  
**_The Children's Hour_

* * *

**Rendezvous with Fate V.3  
**by iCe  
Chapter 3

_...It turns out there was a child, it was devastating to know that she wasn't mine..._

* * *

Ranma tugged on his sleeves as he started to get up from the blanket he and Ukyo were sitting on. He learned early on never to stay too long with her. Experience told him that things turned complicated if he did.

He brushed the specks of dirt his hakama picked up from sitting on the grass. He turned to Ukyo who was starting to stand up. She frowned at him prettily then brushed flecks of imaginary dust, which he already took off. "Must you go soon? Hanae so looks forwards to your visits."

Ranma rolled his eyes as Ukyo pouted. Ukyo, he thought, always pouted when she didn't get what she wanted. She stood there fingering strands of her brown hair that fell across her shoulders waiting expectantly for an answer.

"You know I only stopped by to say hi, Ukyo. Besides, she **does** go home with me every time Kodachi **isn't**." He turned to get his two swords lying on the grass. Although it was Ukyo's duty to take care of Hanae as her 'foster mother', he tended to look after her when he found time. Ranko was still the formal foster mother of the child. Ukyo was just a friend who took care of her for appearances' sake. The set up was needed because Ranma wasn't usually around to take care of Hanae. "I have got to go to Kodachi. It seems she has concocted one of her little games again."

Ukyo raised an eyebrow as she stood up to help him with the short sword. She knew how troubling Kodachi could be when it came to schemes. The only person she could think who could come close was Nabiki and Nabiki was already one of the best. "What is she up to this time?"

Ranma made a face and said, "It seems as if my lovely **wife** is trying to convince everyone she has amnesia." He muttered more under his breath but Ukyo only caught the words angel and crazy.

Ranma settled the Happosai's orders in the two months that Ranma spent out of Rose Brier. He buried Kodachi as far as he could under duty, trying to think of her as little as possible. The troubles at the border and his fiefs were enough to keep his mind occupied. The Regent's move another.

He always tried to avoid the Kodachi topic around Ukyo since she did tend to go overboard on the subject. More often than not, however, he couldn't stop his mouth from speaking before he could think. "Wife?" She almost laughed. Almost. "You call that woman a **wife**? You should have married **me**."

Pushing her gently away, he said, "You know I can't marry you Ukyo." But then ... sometimes ... he really did wish he married to her instead of Kodachi. She had been one of his numerous fiancées and a very close friend when they were young. But that was part of the problem. Ukyo was just a friend.

She also wasn't samurai, and samurai cannot marry out of their class... Another was Lord Happosai's orders. A host of other things complicated matters. When he did think about it, he resolved that she could never be his wife. It wouldn't be fair, not to her. "It's a little late for that."

She laughed a little, not like Kodachi's laugh, but a singsong laugh that she usually used to tease him with. "You call six years a little late?" She patted his shoulder and her eyes twinkled a bit. "Has she met 'Ranko' yet?"

Looking at her Ranma frowned dubiously. "Don't tell me you believe she has amnesia! Of course she's met her."

"Mmmmmmm, but wouldn't her reaction be nice to watch?" She was looking at the sky, imagining the meeting and let out a little giggle. "Even if it is pretend. Kodachi is a damned good actress."

"You know very much how I hate to play Kodachi's little mind games. As I told her I was and I still am sick and tired of it," he said as Ukyo began to fix his hakama again, although he honestly didn't see anything to fix.

She flashed him another one of those impromptu smiles of hers. Ranma mentally steeled himself for another one of her marriage suggestions. She smiled too much when she was plotting for 'Ranma get together schemes' and giggled too much when she talked about Kodachi. "You **could** take me in for a consort."

Part of the reason Happosai ordered him to become Christian was that a doctrine stated that a man was to have only one wife. As samurai, he was allowed only one legal wife but could take as many consorts as he wanted. Christian laws safeguarded him from his many engagements because it forbade polygamy.

Of course **as** samurai, he could just disregard the laws, as a bunch of crap given by gaijin men who came from the West, but he didn't want any consorts and the Christian laws **did** solve his fiancée problems.

His fiancées did not follow him afterwards.

The whole reason behind the mess was his foster father Genma. Another reason was that Ranma simply refused to take a consort. Women -- he thought, with the exempt of Nabiki -- were a whole bunch of trouble... and having consorts was inviting more trouble into the house.

Nabiki took up most of the wife's duty and the others she couldn't, he himself did. He has little want for consorts and even less use for them. "You know the answer to that, Ukyo."

"Hanae really misses you." She pointed out, shifting the subject again since it was not going her way.

"You spoil her." Ranma pointed out, though Hanae seemed to have impeccable manners. Ukyo pouted at that, and he wondered if women in general really did pout if they didn't get what they wanted. Women are trouble, they take what they want and then take it for granted. 'Why do they even pout in the first place?' He thought to himself.

She turned the conversation around again, "What do you have in Rose Brier?"

"I told you, my wife..." He sighed as he thought about that particular problem. When he saw Ukyo wasn't about to let him go for that reason alone he began to enumerate, "And my fief, and my sister and my vassals... do we really have to list it out?"

"You can turn her away." She smiled at him sweetly turning her brown hair over her fingers again, another mannerism Ranma noticed. Divorce was out of the question. There were still reasons why he keeps the sham of a marriage with Kodachi.

Ukyo looked at Ranma in the eye for some time then asked, "Why do you let her get away with all of this Ranma? She's crazy! Why can't you leave her?"

He shifted uncomfortably. He didn't want to get into this subject again. It seemed that, for the past visits, Ukyo always dragged conversation to that topic. "Ukyo, there are a lot of reasons you wouldn't understand. If you truly want the best for both of us...you would let the issue **drop**."

She reacted to this as if she were slapped. She knew Kodachi has a hold on him. What, she didn't know, and she fully intended to find out. "For both our sakes." She almost didn't hear the last part.

Turning her back to him, she sighed looking wistfully back at the house. In some ways, she envied Kodachi. At least Kodachi was close to Ranma, and she didn't even have to meet him in secret. "I'm not the one who tortures myself with visits, Ranma. Why do you come here? Are you such a glutton for punishment?"

That question was left unanswered. He didn't need to respond. Ukyo knew the reason. He was here for Hanae. Even now the only reason why they were alone together was because Hanae put away the gifts her father brought. Ranma loved that child so much that he continually called on her regardless of what the others thought. He went to visit the child. But then, why leave the child with her in the first place? Why do it when they both knew that it would do more harm than good?

Ukyo sighed. She really did like her charge. She has the same enthusiasm as her father, and she was intelligent too. She often wondered why Ranma let her take care of the little one, because it was obvious that he adored the little bundle of energy. Leaving her with Ukyo did not seem like the best solution when he could just take her with him.

He never gave her an explanation and she never asked for one. She also hasn't asked the vital question: Who Hanae's mother was. Ranma never brought the subject up, and she was uncomfortable to initiate it. Sometimes she thought that other than Ranma, no one truly knew.

"Kodachi visited you," he said quietly, changing the subject. "How long were you going to hide it from me?"

She whirled around to stare at him with wide eyes. 'He couldn't possibly know that.' It happened more than six years ago, just before Hanae turned one. Yet, she recalled the memory vividly, as if it happened yesterday.

Ukyo had been surprised to meet Kodachi, a beautiful woman that Kodachi. Back then, she still was beautiful. Back then, Ukyo hadn't known who she was. She didn't know Kodachi was Ranma's wife.

When Ukyo entered her small house coming from peddling okonomiyaki it was Kodachi's unnatural beauty that stopped her. The almost translucent white skin and long dark curling hair branded her immediately as an aristocrat. She commanded attention as she stood there regally her black kimono a stark contrast to her skin.

She was testing the sharpness of Ukyo's spatula with the tip of her nail. When she deemed it worthy, she laid it gingerly down the table where the rest stood. She raised her eyes towards Ukyo a wicked smile on her lips. That smile, among many others told Ukyo that Kodachi Kuno was one demented soul. "Kuonji Ukyo?" Kodachi inquired with the soft tones that did not become her.

Ukyo frowned at that sadistic smile, at those glinting eyes, telltale signs of a person who was not rational with her angers -- but then, who was? "Yes, I am Ukyo. Who--"

"Stay away from my husband." She pulled out a black rose from her sleeves, holding the flower against Ukyo's face all the while maintaining her smile even though her next words were clearly meant to threaten, "If you so much as touch him I **will** kill you."

"Who are you?" Ukyo demanded as she took a step back. She just recovered from the sickbed then and was in no position to fight. It was possible that Kodachi was informed of it and she mildly suspected that was the reason why the woman picked the day to confront her. Cowards tend to threaten when they are safe.

"Saotome Kodachi-noh-Ranma." She walked towards Ukyo and unconsciously Ukyo moved another step back. There was a hard gleam in the Kodachi's eyes when she said her words, venom dripping all over it, "You know, Ranma's wife?" She did nothing to Ukyo. But when she placed the black rose in her hair, there was a stinging sensation and a trickle of blood ran down her face.

"Remember me well, Kuonji." She let out a series of laughs challenging Ukyo to take off the flower. Ukyo didn't, at least, not while Kodachi was still present. "I saw him first."

"On the contrary I knew him since we were six." Her mind's eye flashed a picture of Ranma. Ranma wouldn't like that. He didn't like it when people talked about him like a prize to be won. But she couldn't help herself, not when she was at her weakest and her enemy was close.

"It's who sees him last that counts," Kodachi threw at her face.

What's said in anger is often repented in compliance. Without thinking Ukyo flaunted the only thing she could, the only thing she was sure Kodachi did not know. "I have his child."

It did not give Ukyo the reaction she desired, Kodachi's smile widened. "So you're the mother of the little runt? I thought he would remain faithful. It does not matter if you have his child or not. I will not let him acknowledge the little bastard. I am still his wife. I will **always** be his wife. I come first before any of his consorts."

She paused to let those facts sink home and continued, "Do you not think that if he is capable of having one, he can't have another? What makes you different from all those whores? Nothing. However, I am wed to him before the Shinto gods and before the Christian one. He will forever be mine." She took another rose and left it at a small table. It was black.

"I do not need his love, but you do." She didn't look back as she left. "And your child is born a bastard and will die a **bastard**. Raised in humiliation and shunned by peers. The child will remain one as long as the little monster lives."

Kodachi was a ruthless opponent. Sharpened by age and made deceitful by time. Ranma's voice brought her back to reality. "Why?"

"I never wanted you to know."

"Don't you think I have the right?" he demanded.

"It was between Kodachi and me." She shifted uncomfortably under his angry gaze. "I didn't want you to worry needlessly."

"Needlessly?" Ranma tested the word shaking his head, knowing that Ukyo did not understand the danger she. He sensed she would never understand. "Kodachi uses extreme measures to get what she wants, to take on whoever was in her way. You are an obstacle."

They stood there uneasily for some moments before Ukyo spoke up, "Well, good for you then." She muttered under her breath then sighed. "Look, you know I'll be out of town and can't very well drag Hanae with me. You have to take her... even if Kodachi's home."

Hesitating for a second, Ranma finally agreed. He could have ordered Ukyo to stay. He could have ordered her anything and she would have obeyed, regardless of what she wanted, but he didn't. He wasn't that kind of person. He winced at the thought of letting Kodachi see Hanae. The first time was terrible enough and Hanae had only been a few weeks old. Now, if Kodachi went on her tirade, Hanae would remember.

It was then that the girl they were talking about appeared running across the grass to his arms. She had a beautiful green kimono on that set off her jade eyes. Her unkept red hair flew in the wind as she laughed her excitement showing. She overheard part of their conversation. "Daddy! I'll be going home with you?"

Ranma smiled kneeling down to scoop her up in his arms. "Yes." He was just scared of what might happen, especially with an uncontrolled variable like Kodachi at home.

Hanae was giddy with happiness at the turn of events. They saw each other for only for the briefest of moments. Bringing her home was a rare event. It was a wonder that Nabiki managed to get Hanae and her son to train together at all. "I'm all set, daddy."

"Well then, say your good-byes to Ukyo now and we'll go," Ranma said patting her head. Ukyo came forward to give and collect her goodbye.

Taking the child's sunscreen which Hanae dropped when running towards her father, Ukyo put it on the girl, fixing her red curls. "Be a good girl and don't give your father headaches," her hands went on to the kimono. "Be careful of that dreadful Kodachi." She tucked in the handkerchief that was peeking out of the child's obi. "Eat nutritious foods." She dusted the child's skirts. It would be unseemly to show affection in front of Ranma. While they were in the open, one of Ranma's samurai was nearby, as a custom, important people were never unattended.

The child smiled and gave Ukyo a hug, which Ranma just watched. It was an awkward scene, especially since he was carrying the child. He hated long good-byes.

Ukyo switched her attention to him. "Take care of her."

"I will." Ukyo didn't need to tell him that.

It was then that they parted, Hanae bobbing happily in his arms, Ukyo standing in the middle of the garden looking at them wistfully. It became silent. The breeze blew softly against their backs. Ranma wondered if it was urging him to go on.

* * *

"Lady... Akane, the doctor is here to see you," Ifuku said from the doorstep, after Akane finished walking around the estate.

As she entered the main parlor, she greeted Doctor Kinzaki and thanked him for coming over. He was surprised that she remembered him and that she rebounded from the accident as if nothing happened.

As he started the checkup he asked, "Has your headache returned? Dizziness? Nausea?"

"Nope," she answered cheerfully.

"Remarkable," he commented mostly to himself. "Follow my finger without turning your head, Lady Akane." Akane easily followed his finger when it moved from side to side.

"What about your memory, has it returned?" he asked after finding nothing wrong with his patient.

"Nope, and I don't think it will. I don't think they're memories I want to have anyway," she said cheerfully as she nodded her head towards Ifuku and said in a low voice, "They don't even like me."

He looked at her and was amazed at how casually she was treating this. Most of the people he saw were confused, and have tantrums. They always wanted to know what was happening to them and when their memories would come back.

Never the less he assured her, "It will come back Lady Akane, it usually does."

"Oh, I'm not really worried about it." She meant to reassure him, but he still looked skeptically at her.

"I couldn't believe your remarkable recovery. Have you any idea of how serious your injuries were?" He was clearly baffled by her improvement.

"Oh, I think I do." Akane almost laughed, truth be told, it was the doctor who had no idea of just how injured she had been. "In fact, you're talking to a dead woman."

The doctor raised an eyebrow at what must seem like her odd humor to him. "I don't see why you should stay in bed..." He was uncomfortable at leaving a patient whose condition was so dire just a few days before alone so he followed up with, "But if you feel anything, you call for me."

"Yes, doctor." Tilting her head she asked, "Do you know how old I am, doctor?"

Dr. Kinzaki smiled kindly, he must have thought it was horrible not to know your name, and age. But Akane was dealing with this very well. "I believe you are twenty-five."

"Really? I look like hell," Akane said, looking at the polished silver that stood as a mirror and stared at the reflection of the person she did not know.

Dr. Kinzaki chuckled after he got over his mild shock at hearing a lady curse.

After he left, she realized what she told the doctor about her memories were not entirely true. She did want to know about her past and the only way was through people who knew Kodachi...

The only person that could come to mind was Ifuku. But then, the maid was terrified of her. Something made Ifuku as uncomfortable around Akane, as Akane felt around her.

Akane motioned for her maid to come forward after leading the young doctor out. The maid was obviously confused, terrified and nervous. Talking with Kodachi was something the servants obviously did not do. She showed all the signs of worry, and had Akane been Kasumi, she would have put her at ease easily. Now, Akane could only wish she has her older sister's soothing voice and comforting hand, and hope for the best.

Ifuku's face was paler than usual, close to the shade of gray in her uniform, and her fists clenched tightly around the cleaning rag she held. Akane motioned for the young girl to sit down in front of her, to which she complied.

"Ifuku... you know about my head injury?" Akane started, gently imitating Kasumi when she was trying to calm their overly hysterical father. Ifuku bobbed her head up and down, and suddenly Akane thought of springs. She sighed again.

"Honestly, I don't remember anything." It didn't seem possible but her maid's eyes grew wider and started to border on disbelief.

"Well, it's true." She wondered at ignorance... or was it just that century? She was about to explain mental health to a person who was not about to believe her. Great. She heard of one of the maids saying that rich husbands who didn't want anything to do with their wives sent them back to their families. She didn't know what was or wasn't known about amnesia and the little knowledge she has, came from watching TV.

"Ifuku," The woman winced! She continued more gently all the while cursing Kodachi who was obviously a tyrant. She tried a different approach, small talk, "How come your name means clothes and Sara... well isn't Sara... a..." she thought a moment for a synonym to tray, "bon?"

The maid's eyes widened at her mistress' ignorance. "Only samurai are allowed to names, my lady. We're called by what we do. The fisherman by the lake, or the first son of the fisherman. In my case, my mother tended to the house of Saotome -- for a long time, lady -- and she was a servant towards Lady Nodoka. She knew I'd be given to Lord Ranma's wife as a maid... it is natural for a lady to care for her rich kimonos... and well..."

Akane smiled, the maid seemed to relax at the light talk that started... she paused she wanted to integrate what she wanted as well. When she sensed the ending of the conversation she started another, "I need to know some things... do I have children?"

After recovering from the shock of the said question, she answered no.

"Are my parents alive?"

"No, my lady." Ifuku paused for a moment before recalling, "You have a brother, my lady."

"Do I have relatives other than him?"

"You have a whole Clan of them, my lady. You do have a mother-in-law, a sister-in-law and her husband, and their whole clan, too. Oh, and a nephew, plus that little girl Lord Ranma has."

"What little girl?"

Ifuku's eyes got wider again. "No one knows, ma'am. Lord Ranma just arrived one day after he went out... some days after your marriage... The Lord Happosai sent him on one of his year long errands... carrying a child."

Akane wondered about the child a little before she shrugged, she would have to ask Ranma about that later. At least there was no immediate family to deal with.

Now the hard part, Akane thought to herself. "I can tell by your reaction, by the other workers' reaction and by my husband's reaction, that, uh, I used to be difficult."

Ifuku looked stricken but her lips still remained compressed and in an ill shade of gray. "I... Lady Akane, no one believes..."

Akane interrupted, "Ifuku I'm not stupid, and I'm not blind. I think something is very wrong in this house, and I think that is me. Now I need your help." She leaned forward and Ifuku saw that her eyes were direct and honest.

"I must know what she, er, I was like. What she did to others, who hates her...maybe if I knew it, I could correct it."

"Lady Akane, what you're asking of me is very difficult." Her face was lined with worry and voice shaking slightly. "I'm sorry but I don't think I can. You can send me away if you wish, but I can't."

What kind of monster had Kodachi been? No one could be that bad. How could she tear the barriers Kodachi erected if she did not know where they stood? "Just answer this. If I decided to change, how would other people react?"

Ifuku weighed what she was going to say then took a deep breath, as if preparing herself for the worst and said, "Lady Akane, I'm sorry to say it, but no one would believe you, no one. They'd think you were playing a game, a mean game." She sat up straight and lifted her chin. "You can kill me off if you want."

Akane wanted to cry and for a moment. Ifuku felt sympathy for her lady, but she reminded herself of her many sins not only against her but also against all the servants of Rose Brier and most of all, against Lord Ranma. He was no saint, but he was a good fair man and he deserved better.

"What if it lasted?"

"Well, maybe then." Ifuku still sounded doubtful and added, "But people Lady Akane, they have long memories. They would not forget easily." She gained more confidence since her employer didn't rant, rave or draw her dagger.

Akane stared out the window. "Oh, yes. You can go Ifuku and thank you." The younger woman paused at hearing her say thank you and left her alone.

"Why me?" She sighed it seemed as if her other life was just a delusion that was rapidly fading day by day. She fell off a horse and head injuries were a very tricky thing.

Perhaps she **was** Kodachi and made up all of those things in her overwrought mind. But she didn't, she knew she didn't. The constant reminder was the language she knew, Prime Ministers that have -- would be in position. She really was Akane, who P-chan or probably even God, given another chance. It just wasn't the best situation she's experienced.

Usually she would think of another person who were given worse lots in life than her, but then she was certain nothing was worse than what happened in the two months.

She lost everything in that car crash -- her life, her baby, her husband, her family, her friends. She was sent to replace a terrible woman, was given a husband who loathed her, servants who feared her and a terrible headache.

She was lonelier than she has ever been. Before she had Kasumi, Ryoga, her father, friends...Who did she have now? No one would believe her. She knew telling Ranma was a big mistake and she didn't know if he believed the truth. She prayed he did, because if he didn't he might think her crazy.

All her life she overcame obstacles. Beaten a ton of boys to prove she was just as good as they were, gained respect as the heiress of the dojo, run the very low dipping funds with the help of Kasumi and forced her way out of an arranged marriage with a guy named Shinnusuke.

She was daunted by nothing, a woman who would try everything once, just to say she did it. She was a person who never let life overwhelm her, remaining optimistic in trouble. Her friends were amazed.

She wasn't about to stop now. She couldn't let another person's problems get the better of her. Akane decided to do the thing she always did when she felt down -- exercise.

Standing up, cheered by her resolve. She walked and almost stumbled with the cloth that held her knees together and decided that the knee-bindings would be the first to go. From what she saw, Kodachi has nothing in her closet remotely suitable for a good workout. But with all those dresses, she was sure she has enough material for a shirt and shorts.

She frowned at the thought of sewing. She was never good at it, but she could not tell Ifuku to make her the articles of clothing she wanted. The household would surely think her crazy then.

She just told Ifuku to gather the materials she'd needed and selected which dress should be sacrificed. Picking the skimpiest, thinnest and the ugliest kimono in the wardrobe, she ripped it apart with glee.

After five hours she made a pair of ill fitting oversized black shorts cut to the knees of a modest concession to the ages and a simple pullover shirt. Using some left over cloth, she tied her hair back in a high ponytail.

She looked at her ensemble in a full-length mirror and decided that the shorts were very **very** uneven and the shirt fit like a rice sack. 'At least I won't trip over anything.'

She was about to set out when she realized that she has nothing on her feet, and she certainly could not run in those torture devices she has been wearing -- the Japanese clogs were not the the softest devices for the feet. After a moment of thought, she decided running barefoot would be best, especially if she decided to run by the beach despite the cold. By the time she stretched Kodachi's muscles, dusk was approaching, a nice time to go out running. With another quick glance at the mirror and a frown at her yellowing bruise, Akane headed out of the house, ignoring the stares of the servants.

Akane has little time to explore the grounds. When she opened the shoji and looked inside the training hall, she decided the plainest room in the grounds would be her personal haven.

The dojo was rather simple, with wooden paneling for the floors and walls. Unlike the dojo her father owned, there was no wall dedicated for students that trained under it. There was a big box to one side that she didn't notice with her earlier tour. She opened it, and was surprised to find out that they contained what seemed to be gymnastic materials. She took out a green ribbon. It was dusty. No one used it for ages. When she turned the box, the name Kodachi was written across it in Kanji.

The other weapons, she attributed for the use of samurai who needed to defend the place. There was nothing useful to her. Not even blocks or wood to break. She shrugged, and promised herself she would find some later. She did acknowledge that finding cinder blocks in this age would be a tad difficult. She left and closed the paper doors behind her.

After that, she walked around the mansion, the cool grass sticking against her feet. She searched for a way to the beach. It was colder than what she expected.

She followed a stonewall that ran along the bluff's edge until she came to an opening that led to the stairway dropping to the beach. She walked down the steep but sturdy wooden steps to the sand below and began running on the soft sand. She never learned how to swim, and the allure the sea probably stemmed from it. It was fascinating that there was life living in the endless blue, which she could almost never survive in if it was more than her height.

She breathed in the salty-fishy air and braced herself for the memories of Ryoga she knew would come, for they spent some time in beaches. He always conceded to her want to go to the shore, even though he knew she was hopeless at ever learning how to swim.

She closed her eyes and tried to remember Ryoga and their times together, suddenly wondering why she did not miss her husband, why she did not mourn him. It was as if her time with him was nothing but a fond memory all together. She suddenly realized that P-chan somehow took away all those memories, so she could live on.

She became angry for a while, because she wanted to mourn her husband and the life she lost, but realized that they have let her. For the first moments she spent in Kodachi's body crying, she mourned her husband and her family.

She quickly tired, as her leg muscles labored to keep pace with Akane's ambition to run across the beach, for Kodachi has not trained in a while. She was gasping for breath, her lungs aching from the sharply cold air, she walked until she felt she was rested and ran some more, ignoring the cramp on her side.

Trudging up the steep stairs after her run, Akane felt lightheaded and shaky, her clothes filled with sweat.

That was what Akane did over the weeks. Her clothes, which before had been immodestly tight, were now so loose that she had to have a million pins to hold them in place.

At first, it was difficult to convince the cook that she did not need a mountain of food and five different courses each meal but she finally got her way. The cook servicing them knew how to cook meat, something rare in feudal Japan she wagered and she briefly wondered if it was the Portuguese influence. A maid under questioning said that Kodachi liked her food with meat rather than fish.

Akane quickly ordered a change in her course to what she was accustomed to. In their way of thinking, the Lady Kodachi was trying to starve herself. Even though she changed her diet to what was the norm, she ate barely an eighth of what Lord Ranma took in. It was an unknown fact to the servants that an eighth of Ranma's food consumption was normal standards to those outside the clan. It was a fact that many in the kitchen met with glee rather than concern.

Akane's blanched skin tone got a glow from walking in the sun along the shore. Akane felt healthier than that fat old thing she had been a month ago. The sluggishness she felt was gone, her face lost its puffiness and her hair was clean and shining. Even her teeth, which Kodachi abused, were beginning to whiten from the tooth powder she began to use. The tooth powder was expensive since she needed to buy it from the Portuguese, but it was worth it. She did not agree with the current Japanese trend of blackening her teeth.

She was beginning to think that she was in an endless vacation with nothing else to do but train the rusty body she was in and have fun. Since there was no electricity, the library was where she spent her nights when she became tired. Other than that, she was not affected by the lack of technology.

She didn't mind the lanterns, besides she has to rough it with lamps at training trips, why not now? The telephone? Who would she call? What would she tell? No one would believe her.

Sometimes, when she paused to think about her situation, she remembered the man she was married to. Since that was her only distress, she put it back in her head.

Once she sneaked into his room, to get a feeling of the man he was, but found nothing. She stood there staring at the walls. 'He did have better taste than Kodachi though' she thought as she looked over the contrast to Kodachi's dreadful room.

The only thing that caught her attention in the room -- though it was beautiful -- was a sword lying down on the futon. It was well balanced and fit solidly in her hands. A good sword with a beautiful hilt.

She opened his closet (1) and found some old-fashioned 1600-ish kimonos, hakamas, loincloths and all. But then, for him, it wouldn't be old-fashioned. There were some Chinese shirts and silk pants folded to the side of the dresser, similar to what she saw him attired when she woke up. Later she would learn from the servants that he wore the Chinese clothes only in Nerima or in the presence of other Saotomes.

As days progressed, she found herself drawn to the servants gossiping (2). Although it was hard to catch them doing so, they have their rare moments where they talked about what happened on the other village, about the sick boy in town, about their curiosity in the sudden surge of cats... they talked about little things and it was rare that one would mention political matters... but it was enough for her. It was her window to the outside world. It was proof that it wasn't something she dreamed overnight. Proof that this world was real.

Comfortably set in her new life, Akane was starting to come to terms that the pretty face that stared back in the mirror was her own. It took some time, but she wasn't startled to see another face staring back when she looked at a reflective object.

At first, she was reluctant to have the servants do everything for her. Being born to parents who were saving up every coin for their education tended to have that effect on you. She wasn't rich and she wasn't accustomed to it. But when she saw the look on the servant's face when she put away the futon, she decided just to let them do their job.

She didn't know how to act around them, and after much debate, decided she should just be herself. And that, more than anything, has the servants of Rose Brier confused. Half of the servants thought she was playing a joke, half thought she was losing the rest of the bolts that held her mind together, but all agreed that she was up to no good.

Rose Brier has always been a tense place to work with Lady Kodachi always flying from one tirade to the next. She dispatched maids for the simplest offenses of having given her the wrong quantity of ingredients with her potion -- when it was as minute as a pinch. That her roses weren't watered enough when they went through the trouble of measuring everything to the point of her orders.

Ranma managed to track down the vassals that Kodachi sent away and managed to get them back or compensate. He usually succeeded, Kodachi wasn't usually at home and when she was, she became drunk frequently. He was just thankful she never saw the need to take their own lives in her hands. Of course, this didn't include heavily scarring them. She was just as entitled to a sword as he was... though she found it bloody and messy.

Most of the time, she acted as if she didn't care for Rose Brier except for her hideous bedroom, the black roses and the potions she was constantly brewing in one of the rooms -- which one they still have yet to find -- the mistress was good with hiding things she did not want to be seen.

This unpredictability kept the servants from pleasing their mistress.

Now they were seeing a completely new side of her. She was completely different from the Lady Kodachi they were accustomed to. Mostly they wanted to see what the Lady Kodachi -- now the Lady Akane as she preferred, would do. How their lord would react to her. The day the master came home... it would be an interesting day.

* * *

Contemplating on whether to wake his daughter or not when they reached Rose Brier Ranma tightened his grip protectively around his daughter. Finally deciding that a big home coming with her awake wasn't something he wanted her to experience he left her peacefully asleep on his lap. Especially since Kodachi **might** still be home. She certainly showed no signs of leaving the last he saw her.

He absently stroked her reddish hair gathering the child into his arms as gently as possible. Homecoming was one of the events in his miserable life that he really didn't look forward to. There was simply nothing to come home to.

There were no children. He hated his wife. If it wasn't for Hanae, Nabiki and Sei, he didn't know what he would be doing. Frankly, he thought they did more for him than he did for them.

He loved Rose Brier and the Dojo, although once it was named very differently. He forced himself to forget that now. It was difficult to dwell on the past, especially since they could do nothing to change it. All that mattered was that he has his daughter with him. Rose Brier was his responsibility along with Nerima and the whole of the han, Sagami. It was his duty to his liege lord -- he needed to come home.

His thoughts wandered to the problem that drew him away in the first place. For the past six months, the enemies of Ieyasu Tokugawa were mobilizing. Ieyasu was Happosai's ally therefore also his liege lord, higher up than even the head of his clan, it was also important to be noted that Ieyasu was a major daimyo.

It was worse for him because they were tampering with his land. He needed to report this to the Lord Happosai at once. If this continued, he woud be forced out of Nerima.

Armed with enough proof to convince the biggest skeptic, Ranma decided to go to his sister Nabiki for a long discussion about the problems.

He was brought back from his musings with Hanae's jerk and looked out the palanquin; Rose Brier was coming into view now. Fleetingly, he wondered about Kodachi and her so-called-amnesia. He hoped she gave up on it and that she went away and returned to her miserable life. If that was true then she wouldn't be home, but somehow, he knew she would be. She always was where he didn't need her.

It was good though, despite everything, to be home.

As the palanquin stopped, he carried the still sleeping child out. He hated the use of kagas (3) and preferred horses or a good run but Happosai upon hearing about Kodachi's insult re-called all his horses. He grumbled a little at the old man, he was the one who ordered him to marry the harlot knowing Kodachi's nature, but he still reclaimed his horses to appease his pride. Happosai recalled them so that he wouldn't lose face.

Only a select few were allowed to use carriages, and even then only on a very special road. Sometimes the very sick were allowed by their liege lords to use it and the doctors were given leeway because of their perpetual emergencies. He was prepared to travel by foot but since Hanae joined them home, and he was officially doing Happosai's business, he allowed the travel arrangements.

Sasuke, who accompanied Ranma, brought their things to their respective rooms quickly using the trees and windows as stairs towards the chambers. Ranma would have followed had he not heard a woman shouting. The words made little sense, so he did not pay attention to their meaning but instead tried to focus on the sound. "...is neck in neck with her opponent. It looks like Akane Hi--errrr Saotome is once again going to capture the gold. The crowd goes wild! Yaaaaaaaaay!"

Kodachi, her hair in a ponytail, her face dripping in sweat stopped at the door when she realized she had an audience. She leaned against the door huffing and puffing. "Whew, I just won the gold medal in the hundred yard dash! Congratulate me?" She smiled but didn't wait for Ranma to snap out of his puzzlement. "Welcome home, Ranma."

She squinted then brought her hand against her eyes. "Was that Sasuke entering the **window**?" She was surprised to see that leap and thought she was seeing things. As she turned to him, she noticed the little girl sleeping in his arms. Akane leaned closer, glad that Ranma didn't move away as she peered at his lovely charge. "What's her name?"

"Hanae," Ranma said simply. An introduction between Hanae and his wife was something he foresaw. He has always known it would not go well.

"May I..." Kodachi started tentatively, knowing the child wasn't a baby, but she missed her own so much. "May I carry her?"

"You told me six years ago never to let you see her again." Ranma's eyes hardened. "I am merely obliging you your wishes."

Kodachi looked stricken and backed up. For the first time, Ranma saw her face. He couldn't believe it was the same woman he left weeks ago. On some level, he understood that she has to be Kodachi, but his eyes tried to dispute him. Standing before him was a beautiful slender woman with surprisingly bright eyes. She was completely different from the feverish woman he left two months ago. It was the face Kodachi presented at Nerima, and the face he quickly grew to despise. "Kodachi?"

"That's Akane remember?" She regained her smile again and for some reason her heart was beating faster than it was supposed to after a four mile run and breaking driftwood. Seeing him apparently caught her off her guard. She also forgot that he was handsome.

"Akane." He glared at her. "Why choose that name, Kodachi? You know very well Nabiki liked that name for her child."

"I--I didn't know." She hadn't understood when she woke up why it would upset him to take up the name. Now, it looked like she wished that she chose something else. "I could change it if you want."

"Whatever you like."

She looked different. Coincidentally enough it was what she picked up next for a topic, "I started running and practicing in the dojo. I also got some wood, breaking and stuff. I eat less of the food too."

Ranma gave her another once over then locked his eyes on her face, she deeply tanned her skin and frowned, Kodachi never went out without a sun guard, parasol and gloves. She treasured the whiteness of her skin. The darker the skin was the more common, and she hated commoners worst of all. "You... darkened your skin tone..."

"Yes... I had a very unhealthy pallor..."

His eyes traveled down from her face to what she was wearing, he voiced it out loud, "What do you **think** you're wearing?"

Akane paused and her eyes looked down on her shirt and shorts. "It's a running thing. You really don't expect me to run in my kimono do you?" When she saw a yes being formed in his lips she interrupted, "Don't answer that. If you don't like what you see. Don't look. Don't be such a prude. Ugh. What a century!"

Ranma stared at her. The dress shouldn't have bothered him, after all in a time where public baths, or when in a battle men were forced to relieve themselves in the midst of everyone, nudity wasn't uncommon. Peasants took all human manure and mixed it with water... nothing was taken to waste. Men and women swam naked together, and Happosai ordered all his samurai to know how to swim, among other things.

Because of his unique curse though, Ranma didn't like of the lack of privacy. After growing up in China with Nabiki for company and such an 'un-Japanese' foster father didn't change his views. It didn't sit well that Kodachi was running around half-dressed for everyone to see.

Ranma stood there for a moment then followed her inside. "I'm calling for the doctor."

"What? Why?" Kodachi asked whirling around to look at him. He was already ready to summon someone to bring the good doctor in. "I'm healthy. See? I have been for days!"

"You're crazy," he said as he went up the house to deposit Hanae to her room. She guessed the room that was guarded beside his was the girl's. As she looked at his retreating back, she has a sinking feeling that her mission here was not going to end any time soon.

* * *

**Footnotes:**

(1) Is this what's really inside a traditional 1600's Japanese home?Okay, to answer that, I've never seen any traditional 1600'sJapanese home, so I wouldn't exactly know where they put theclosets and stuff like that. History books tend to go more on allthe persona than the details, you know. If anyone ever finds outdrop me a line :)

Yes, they don't have permanent rooms back then... but humor me in this one.

(2)After much convincing I changed it :) I just didn't want to take the footnotes because it's so tiring to move everything. (imagine moving from 20 - 100 and see how you feel).

(3) What are kaga? Kagas are sorta like palanquins, it was the usual mode of transportation for samurai with station. Usually four kaga-men, carry this, but there are variants for two. Japan preferred kaga over carriages because 'There are simply too many rivers and streams to bridge over for carriages.' (quote from some book)

Only the emperor was allowed on a carriage and only on this special road. Some of the very sick (but only with the permission of the liege lord) sometimes can use kaga and doctors are allowed to because of their perpetual emergencies. Therefore kagas and horses were a sign of rank and status. Even if a wealthy man wanted a kaga, he couldn't have it if he isn't the right status.

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Ranma 1/2 and the book I based it from Which is When there is Hope, and if you sue me you can't possibly get money from me.

* * *

**Author's notes: **

Divorce is rare in modern Japan, but from what I read, in the olden days Japanese people could divorce as much as they like, although divorce isn't the term then... the husbands could send away their wives, banish them, order them to commit seppuku and generally boss them around. It was the Western countries (because of Christianity) that remained faithful to one partner.

Why doesn't Ranma boss Kodachi? Well, he does, when he's allowed to... that damned Happosai.

This part of the fanfic hasn't deviated much from When there is Hope except for Hanae and Ukyo. As chapters progress, we are going to be increasingly leaving that and move on to the story I'm weaving. Try as I might to re-write this, it hasn't been cooperating.

Anyway... whew, I think the whole author's notes and endnotes are at least half of the whole story, sorry, I'm just too talkative I guess.

iCe

**website: **ice _dot_ esmartdesign _dot _com  
**e-mail**: siuane _at_ gmail _dot _com  
**livejournal**: ice _underscore_ of _underscore_ dreams

* * *

I write when the spirit moves, and I make sure it moves everyday.  
Anonymous


	5. Part 4 : April

**Revision History :  
**04/02/06 -- common errors in the English language

* * *

**Little note before you start anything:**

Implied Adult themes.  
Special thanks at the bottom.

* * *

Much madness is divinest sense  
To a discerning eye;  
Much sense the starkest madness.  
Assent, and you are sane;  
Demur, -- you're straightway dangerous,  
And handled with a chain.  
**Emily Dickinson **

**

* * *

**

**mRendezvous with Fate V.3  
**by iCe  
Chapter 4

_...they thought I was crazy, it was a surprise I didn't live up to that... _

* * *

Akane leaned against the side of the hallway she'd labeled Ranma's while waiting for him to emerge from the room, a little hurt that he hid its existence from her. 

"I'm not crazy, Ranma," she said as he came out, sliding the shoji shut behind him.

"Kodachi, did that bump on the head make you lose what common sense you have, floating in there?" he asked, waving at her head for emphasis.

"If you're so upset, I won't run in the morning, I'll do it at night. I'll even practice at night. But you have to fill up my morning schedule." He was being stubborn, but he wasn't the only one who was upset about the entire matter. She didn't like the situation either, but she tried to do her best with what was given to her, why couldn't he.

"I wasn't just talking about the dress." He scowled again. Akane wondered if he scowled as much around anyone else. "I'd never call you Akane, and I'd never let you near Hanae."

"Never say never." She smiled. That was the only way she knew how to respond other than being violent about it. Patience wasn't one of the virtues that she was known for and she was grateful that her temper wasn't as short as in her youth. "I'll dress up for dinner so I can get out of this getup you so obviously despise." She tugged at the hem of the dress to stress her point. "Just don't look too surprised with my clothes. None of them fit me anymore."

Ranma gave Akane a puzzled stare. "Why not order some more?"

"Order more?" She didn't see any boutiques, say, Tokyo Fashion, around. Kodachi didn't seem like a woman who bought her clothes off the rack -- wait was there a rack in 1600? -- Possibly not. "I don't know how."

At that, Ranma laughed.

It was the first time she ever heard him laugh. He sounded genuinely amused for a change. Akane didn't guess that it was possible. It was the closest to happy she ever saw him. It didn't last long.

"I'm sure Ifuku will enlighten you." He let the topic go for the moment to focus on something he was really interested in. "Are you telling me you remember nothing? The doctor said some memory might return."

Akane let out a sigh. Obviously, he didn't believe the truth which honestly was understandable but she still couldn't let it go. "I really have nothing to remember."

"Don't tell me you expect me to believe that story about how someone else died and took your body, Kodachi..." He gave her an exasperated sigh. "Frankly I'm having a hard time believing you have amnesia as it is. Don't expect me to believe the other story."

She looked at him incredulously. Not only did he not believe the truth -- which was okay since she would be skeptical herself if someone told her -- but he didn't believe the doctor's prognosis. 'This isn't happening to me... this isn't what I planned in my head these past weeks.'

In her imagination, they would talk calmly and shake each other's hands. Sometimes, he even believed her crazy story. She was prepared for anything. Anything but this.

By this time, her temper reached its limit. She shouted, "Believe what you want then!" She could feel she was close to tears. Damn. "Kodachi is dead, and I'm alive. I won't let her ruin my life as she has apparently done yours!"

She hated it when people saw her cry. She wanted to whirl around and run to her room. If she didn't, she might just grab things and start pounding on something to make her feel better.

But she didn't.

"Stop staring at me!" she yelled. "I hate it when people see me cry!"

But Ranma continued to look at her oddly. This, for some reason, made her want to pound him even more. Wielding her mallet, which was a nifty little trick she picked up when she was learning martial arts, she pounded on the space he was standing on. Another problem emerged: she couldn't hit him. "Dammit! Stay **still**!"

He did stop. He caught her hands and pulled them apart, pinning them against the wall. He did this so gently that they didn't break through the thin paper shoji. He was about to disarm her, but it looked like the mallet was nowhere in sight.

"Kodachi, let's get this straight. You're reverting to a **mallet** now?" Letting her arms go, he asked, "You're picking such an 'unfeminine' weapon?"

"**What** did you say!" Akane shouted. The mallet reappeared in her hand.

Just as quickly, Ranma disarmed her, pinning her hands behind her back. "I was just clarifying your choice in weapons. **You** were the one who referred to Ukyo's spatula as unfeminine and Shampoo and Rian's weapons as uncouth. Don't you think this is just the same? More so."

She registered for the first time that he insulted her choice of weapons, her nice choice of weapons. And that her mallet, which never failed her before, decided to do so now. Damn her stupid luck.

She didn't answer him. He didn't let her go. "Let's just get this out in the open to reawaken your foggy mind. You **cannot** hit me. Hanae is asleep. **You** are making noise. Do you really want me to dunk you in one of your potions to shut you up?"

Throughout his little lecture, Akane stared at him wide-eyed. No one has managed to stop her hammer before. Not even Ryoga. Evading simply wasn't possible. The fact that Ryoga was the only person she ever tried to mallet didn't cross her mind.

If she weren't angry, she would be amazed at his speed. They stood unmoving in the hallway, uncharacteristically staring each other down. Though they were locked in a battle of wits, if someone walked in, they would have thought Ranma was actually embracing her. The only indication that it wasn't an amorous tryst was Akane's hands which Ranma held firmly behind her back to keep her from moving.

"You have always been crazy, Kodachi, so let's stop the games," he said, regarding her cautiously. She still has her legs and her head. Keeping Akane's arms unusable was just a setback there would be a counter-attack somewhere.

They moved considerably away from Hanae's door, an indicator that Ranma tried his best to provide for his daughter at times like these. His determination to stop her didn't waver even after leading her away from Hanae and he was still staring at her. When she recognized the look he was giving her, she sighed. That look was going to get her admitted in an asylum.

Each second they stood at the center of the hallway Akane's anger seeped away from her. "I -- I'm sorry I remember now. I talked with Dr. Kinzaki and I told him of a dream I had of dying and going to another body," it was the biggest lie she ever said in her life. "He said it was natural for amnesia patients to believe anything other than what's truly happened to them..."

She might be saving herself from whatever verdict of lunacy they diagnosed in her, but she just thrown her sanity, not to mention her credibility, down a cliff and drowned it.

"Now it's back to amnesia. Did you dream that too?" he asked sarcastically. "And when did you turn into a terrible liar? I could see your face reddening. New trick you picked up. Did you learn it so you can convince me that you're lying?"

Her face flushed, she was never a good liar. "Why would I try to convince you that I'm lying? It wouldn't help matters, especially with your views about my sanity."

"Because what I think doesn't really matter, does it?" Ranma looked at her directly in the eyes in an attempt to intimidate her. To her credit, Akane managed not to flinch. "So, my dearest Kodachi, are you lying?"

"No, the amnesia is real, and I'm not lying." She didn't realize how hard it was to try to sound indignant when she was doing exactly what she was being accused of. "I still have no memory of you."

He leaned towards her and her eyes widened. "What the HELL do you think you're doing?" she asked, trying to bring her arms up. However, Ranma has a solid grip.

"Seeing if you have amnesia, my dear wife," Ranma retorted. His left hand came up to hold her head as his right hand encircled her waist, effectively trapping her arms. By now, his mind was giving him warning signals that the only attack his wife would use, if she chose to do so, would be bringing up her knee.

Akane meanwhile -- did not think of that. She was panicking because she had never been completely pinned down before -- at least not in the real world. She has plenty of experiences in the dojo -- or in bed. However, those times, she did not feel the complete helplessness that she was feeling now, and those certainly weren't attacks like this. Locking her ankle around his leg, she shoved him off using her shoulders. He didn't move by much but he dropped his hands.

It wasn't her desired effect. He was standing, and she was on the floor, the shove causing her to lose her precarious balance. She tried the move before when she was locked in a grip once when she was in high school but it was the boy who sank on his knees.

"I thought we already established something about fighting," he quipped, dropping his hands to his sides and looking at her with a half-amused, half-irritated stare.

"Worth a try," she answered while trying standing up with her dignity intact. "Never, **never** do that again with me, Ranma! If you want a kiss, ASK. NICELY." She was also very angry by now. "Don't you ever force me. You idiot! You pervert!" She stomped off frustrated that she couldn't think of anything insulting to say.

-

Ranma stared after her and wondered where she acquired the strength to push him off. If he didn't have a great sense of balance, he would have stumbled a bit. If it were any other person he knew, they would have been down on the floor. If it was an ordinary person, they would be at least five feet away.

He heard the door slam shut and winced. 'Wait...Back up a minute...PERVERT?' He shook his head as he rubbed his shoulder. "She has **got** to be kidding." Compared to her, he was practically a monk.

Had he been about to kiss her? He honestly didn't know, although the thought had always repulsed Kodachi. Kissing has always been a Western idea and something he learned in the Amazon Village, and from what he knew, never practiced out of the wedding futon.(1) He shuddered. He didn't want to dwell on the idea too much.

He didn't know if it was a good idea to block Kodachi's hits. After all, anger, the longer put off is stronger when it comes and the longer felt. But then, if he let her hit him, he'd lose the last semblance of control he had. Delay was also the best remedy for anger... 'I'm actually confusing myself.' Ranma thought, shaking his head to clear it.

"Daddy, why didn't you wake me up?" A sleepy tug came with the voice.

Ranma looked down to find Hanae rubbing her eyes out. Apparently, Kodachi did wake her up, and he was thinking deeply enough not to notice her walk towards him. "You were tired. You've seen it lots of times." He smiled at her, lifting her up.

Hanae stared past his shoulder towards the area where Kodachi disappeared. "That was Kodachi, right?"

"Hmm...Forgotten her already? You see her practically every year," Ranma asked, heading towards Hanae's room. Ukyo decorated it, but the only thing that Hanae owned in it were her clothes. Most of Hanae's things were at Ukyo's place since Ranma thought the things would be better off with her than his wife.

"Is she my mother at Rose Brier?" she asked solemnly.

He hesitated before answering. Hanae was barely six years of age, and he didn't want her to be exposed to the cruelty Kodachi was known to exhibit. In a house of paper doors, it was difficult to hide things from people. "I'm sorry I can't keep the noise down."

"I'm a light sleeper, daddy," she whispered clinging to his neck. Ranma was surprised at the gesture. She was actually trying to reassure him. As he entered Hanae's room, he looked about the pastel decorated walls. There was nothing much in the room, a few shelves to keep her dolls, a mirror, and a closet for her clothes.

When Hanae was newly born, he brought her here. Kodachi threw her out. Literally. He needed to run out to catch her in the rain. It was a good thing he was fast enough. Kodachi screamed then. She still retained that screaming habit.

He took pains to see that Hanae would not be around when Kodachi was, even if it meant she was away for long periods of time. He did not count on Kodachi deciding to stay. Ukyo informed him of her leave weeks in advance so he couldn't very well cancel on her.

"Look, Hanae. Kodachi and I aren't on the best of terms." He put her down and rumpled her hair. "And I **really** am not the person to deal with her." Bringing her bag towards the bed Ranma sorted it while Hanae got some fresh clothes from the closet. "I'm sorry you are home when she's here and..."

"It's all right, Daddy. Kodachi isn't so bad." She tried to put him at ease and then smiled. "Do you want me to have dinner with you guys?"

"No," Ranma answered grimly. "Kodachi is someone I have to handle alone."

When Ranma stepped out of the room, Nabiki greeted him with a raised eyebrow. "Welcome home Ranma, and how is my brother, today?" Nabiki said while giving her son a pat in the back to greet his uncle. The boy bowed immediately, then, the formalities finished, he rushed up to give his uncle a hug.

When Sei (2), saw Hanae who rose from her bed again he asked permission for them to go out for a swim. The girl happily agreed to, even though she still couldn't figure out how to breathe under water. After she greeted her aunt and received permission and equal words of caution, she and Sei were off to the bay. Ranma and Nabiki proceeded to the teahouse for privacy.

"So what happened, Ranma?" Nabiki asked, automatically arranging her kimono as she sat down on the cushion with her brother. "I trust everything is fine."

Ranma explained the location of the troops and the trouble that was brewing in the side, as his suspicion of mobilization, the well-placed fires and his worries.

"Looks like you're right. If mercenaries are being hired... well, it cannot be good," she said after listening intently to what Ranma was saying. Once, plotting would have made her smile. Now, she saw all of it through dispassionate eyes and offered what she knew. "We still have to find out who is wreaking havoc on Nerima first. Mercenaries... they can never be traced to a house."

Ranma would have given anything to see his sister happy. Giving her a job that keeps her mind working was the only way to do it. To others it may seem that he was working his own sister too hard but it was the only way. Nabiki was only happy when she was using her mind.

"Usually we start with who hates you -- or me -- enough to want to destroy us," Nabiki suggested, since those who didn't know about her thought her to be Ranma's consort. After all, if you're a consort you must share your master's ill luck. "It is possible it is against Kodachi too... but her enemies are far too many, and an attack against her is unthinkable, most think she's touched by Kami"

Many believed that when you were touched by the kami, you became crazy. These people were given special privileges. It was because of this that it was improbable for anyone knowing about Kodachi could strike against her, even if she was bordering the insane. "We've both made enemies," Ranma said slowly, unmindful of the maid who entered and left the sake and porcelain cups to Nabiki.

"Yes, I must agree. Though mine cause less property damage than yours," Nabiki murmured, offering the same cup filled with sake to him. Ranma declined at first, but finally accepted.

"Hey! You were the one who had a samurai out for your head because you just HAD to tell him you were better than him, and humiliated him in front everybody to boot," Ranma said pointedly rudely gesturing with his tea cup at her.

"Something someone I know would have done if he were goaded, hmmm?" Nabiki frowned as she remembered the said samurai. "He cost me a very good sword! But at least I don't lead insanely powered martial artists here."

She placed her own cup down and folded her hands in front of her, leaning closer to her brother. " Cologne, an enraged Amazon with that fight of yours because you didn't marry the hair-care product that chased you half-way around the globe. It was lucky for us that Rian didn't choose to go after you too. Pantyhose Tarou is another, just because you wouldn't let him in the border of Tokaido (3) because of our dear liege lord... need I go on?"

"Hey -- Shampoo saved us money by making doors!" Ranma protested, falling back to the banter that usually found its way when he was talking to Nabiki. It usually eased their minds off their problems.

"Oh yes! **DOORS**! How can we forget those?" Nabiki nodded slowly, her sarcasm not reaching him. "Be that as it may, there are the four regents to put in mind. We are under the Lord Ieyasu, so Briar Rose is in his corner and since the Tokaido is the center point of the region we are at a tactical advantage. All the other regents would want us in their corner. They can be the ONLY ONES."

She let this information sink in. "Those powered friends of yours wouldn't go on a systematic destruction of the Tokaido. They would think it dishonorable not to fight your ritualized bashes. The peasants cannot be under revolt, you tax fairly and you're as nice a lord as they come. The etas... they will not even think about pulling a stunt like this. All the rest have no motive."

"Do you think Cologne would do it?" Ranma queried after a moment of silence.

Nabiki sighed, but thought about it for a while before giving her answer, "I wouldn't know. Cologne is still in China last I've heard of her, but she's not been hostile ever since you married Kodachi. She almost looked sympathetic."

Cologne was known to use some underhanded tactics but she always did everything in her power for the benefit of the Amazon Village, the twins and their training. Her actions held reason and engaging in a petty squabble with the Saotomes didn't seem reasonable at the moment. "It doesn't make any sense."

Nabiki gave him an odd reprimanding look when she heard his words. "Ranma, Ranma, Ranma, when will you learn that nothing in this world makes sense?"

"I've thought of putting one of the samurai on this. Konatsu seems a good choice, this being his area of specialty." He paused as he weighed her reaction to his statement, when she didn't show any outward signs of displeasure he continued, "But I wanted you to be in on this first. I don't mean any disrespect or insult on your abilities. After all, you are my sister. I think it would be best if it was kept to family."

Nabiki weighed his statement. "Think Konatsu isn't up for the job?"

"Your idea. What I'm saying is, you might want to take it on as a personal project" He was pleased to see a predatory smile on her face. It could only mean she was interested.

"Oh?" She settled her chin on her hands, time for a little brotherly talk, and to gauge how much he wanted her working on it. "What makes you think I'll work on this project of yours Ranma?"

"This project of mine is also a project of yours Nabiki." He waited for a few seconds before saying what Happosai never let them forget, even in the middle of China. "You are a Saotome."

"I swear I was switched at birth," she drawled still giving him that predatory look.

"And you'll want it for the rep Nabs." He matched her look with his. "I mean a case you **couldn't** solve?"

Nabiki stared at him for a moment. It was Ranma's turn to smile. He hit a chord. "I take it back, you may be my brother. But I'm still not entirely sure on that part."

"Sure, sure," Ranma answered, making all the motions saying that he believed her and yet tinting his voice with his disapproval. "Still can't resist a challenge?"

"It's what has gotten that man a sword," she muttered, frustrated that she lost a verbal spat with her brother. She did not let it go without sticking her own sword in. "It's what gets you all those enemies..."

"So you'll take it." Ranma felt like giving her a hug, he settled for a grin and an annoyingly knowing look instead. Nabiki glared at him, to which his reply was, "Thanks!"

"I never said I would **do** it." Nabiki watched him, wanting to know how much he was willing to push her before she felt like she was obliged to do it. Since Nabiki was under his household, he could give out the order, but he liked the play of words. It kept his wits about him. He was also sure that Nabiki would take up the challenge. "I'll look in on the matter," she said a little too resignedly for him to take her opposition against the idea seriously.

He wanted the investigation over as soon as possible and he could kill two birds with one stone. "You want incentive, how about if I tell you about the little history of Hanae?"

Nabiki frowned and gave Ranma a puzzled look. No one ever asked anything about Hanae from him and she was so interested in that child. Ranma never told her the reason for Hanae's presence because there was no need to. She was tied with other things when Hanae arrived in his live and now, there must be a reason why he wanted to tell her. He used the information as a bargaining chip so that he wouldn't lose face.

Nabiki had a fine head for investigative matters as well plus a penchant for adventure -- having Ranma for a brother made that a necessity. She was also, at best, a little bit below Ranma for his fighting skills. They were raised by the same foster father after all. "I swear, one of these days I'm going to find out how you get away with this."

"Really Nabiki, you should recognize your techniques by now." He shook his head at her. In a silly way, he looked like the old schoolteacher she had way back when she was seven. "Anyway, thanks. I do hope you find it soon."

"You don't trust me?" Nabiki asked wide-eyed pointing to herself. Her disbelief was apparent, yet she was challenging him to come back at her.

Ranma frowned. "Let's just finish this quickly."

"So... you never answered my question. I wasn't talking about your trip." At his blank stare, she knew he forgot what they were talking about before the issue of their enemies cropped up, so she repeated her question, "What happened Ranma?"

She slowly raised an eyebrow at him waiting for the answer while Ranma tried to process exactly what she was asking. "Uh... what exactly do you mean?"

Giving up on him realizing it on his own and mildly suspecting that he was being deliberately obtuse she finally said, "The tender scene with you and Kodachi."

He cringed a little. He didn't know how Nabiki put up with Kodachi. It was one of the miracles he credited to her every day. Nabiki was usually left alone at the house with his wife. They managed to meet rarely and when they do, Nabiki always manages to be on the winning side. She even managed to conceal her son from Kodachi. In a paper house, it was something short of a miracle. 'Without using the forbidden techniques, that is.' Ranma made a mental note to ask how Nabiki managed to do it some time.

"It was nothing," Ranma quipped waving his hand, signaling her to forget about it. This only raised her curiosity to another level. It's never 'nothing' when people claimed it was. "I was just testing her 'amnesia'."

"It didn't look like it," Nabiki said softly, she saw the whole encounter and waited until Kodachi was safely out of the scene she called her son to greet her brother. "You lost your temper for a moment there, brother. It was not how you usually handled her. Don't tell me you're starting to find in yourself... affection for the woman."

He was also surprised at how he managed the situation. 'Yeah, Real **smooth**.' The fact that it was years since he felt anything more than hatred for his wife added a little worry in his already troubled mind.

The bottom line was that she rejected him, and that was what he was keeping in mind. Sure, she was a bit out of character, but one fact remained. Kodachi -- he knew -- simply did not love him. She had been forced to find a husband and he had been at the right place in the right time. He had given his love easily and his trust freely. It was different now. She didn't need him anymore.

He wondered if he could keep her out of his bed from pure hatred. That was what he did before. It was only in the last three years that the alcohol, food and the long and endless nights took its toll on her. He hoped hatred was enough for now.

He stopped and looked at Nabiki in the eyes before giving his reply, "Nothing has changed."

* * *

At dinnertime, Akane was so worried about her husband and that girl that her heartbeat sounded loud in her own ears. That -- and the rustling of her kimono against her ankles was getting pretty annoying. 

She reached an empty room with only the soft light of the lantern to guide her. She looked around to make sure -- but Ranma wasn't anywhere in sight. She walked to her place in the table and said aloud, "Coward."

"Who are you talking to, Kodachi?" Akane was so startled she let out a scream when she whirled around to face her husband. By this time, her heart was beating so fast and so loudly, she swore that even **he** could hear it. She clutched her heart as if to steady it.

He had been standing by the window, hidden by the shadows. When he moved, it seemed as if the shadows moved with him, making him very disconcerting to watch. And he was fast too. He was in front of her before she could let out a squeak. "You scared me half to death."

"I'm not half that lucky," he quipped as looked at her.

"And exactly **what** do you mean by that?" she asked her temper getting the better of her. Again.

"Calm down Kodachi. I mean it exactly the way you heard it." He simply could not resist letting a gibe pass by. It was a direct consequence of being around Nabiki too much. "Or is your ear just as gone as your head is nowadays?"

She had to shake her head, there had to be something other than his good looks that would make him a better person. There just had to. "Is Hanae joining us? And please, call me Akane."

"No," He answered stiffly to both questions. It was obvious he still didn't want her near the child. "And, as I said, I'd **never** call you Akane. Kodachi suites you."

A short-sword, a deadly weapon in a skilled one's hands. That was what Kodachi's namesake was. Obviously, Kodachi was very much like her namesake in every regard.

"Akane... crimson..." He paused for a moment thinking about it. "It sounds like a bloodbath."

"Kodachi ignites a bloodbath," Akane answered rapidly.

He smiled slowly. "Then Kodachi it is then."

"Hmmm...witty tonight aren't we?" Akane smiled a little. "I suppose it is better than your biting sarcasm. Honestly! Where do you get all that from anyway? You're much too grumpy for a man your age...uh...how old are you anyway?"

"Twenty-nine, as you know."

She ignored the as you know part, and continued with the next question that she thought up while she was nervously preparing for her first dinner with her husband. "How long have we been married?"

"Seven glorious years."

"And was one of us in love during these 'seven glorious years'?" she asked curiously. From his tone, she knew he was getting bored from the conversation.

"You are mistaking the word affection for love." He used the Latin word for it. "Love is a Christian word, Kodachi, it is the priests who let you believe ai is synonymous to both. Love has no Japanese translation as we Japanese understand it, it is an illusion, a word within a word (4)."

She stared, she presumed that the unknown word was love in some other language she did not understand. She didn't know how he had the perception to understand that she was talking about love when... as he pointed out there was no Japanese translation for it. "Well... were we?"

"Ours was an arranged marriage, Kodachi. You can't hope for anything more than at least affection." He regarded her carefully watching her reaction, but discreetly, so much so that she wasn't aware of it. "And the ideology of Christian love requires so much more."

"Well, were we at least affectionate?" His ability to dodge her was fast becoming irritating in her book.

"One of us was," he answered then cursed himself when he realized what he just said. It was automatic. She knew that he was thinking of something else when he answered, so it was the truth. If she had been looking at him, she would have caught a slight flicker of change in his expression, despite his curt remarks.

"Then it must have been me," Akane answered a little sadly, knowing that if it **was** only Kodachi in love with Ranma, all was lost. "You seem too dead to the world to feel anything."

"Really? That's new. I've never known for you to care for anybody but yourself," he said this so dispassionately that Akane wondered what Kodachi did to make him marry her.

"Then you loved me!" she exclaimed happily, that certainly would make her mission easier. But then the present situation brought her back to reality. "But... you don't anymore. You hate me. The servants are afraid of me. I have no friends..." The last part was brought on by the fact that no one came to call upon her, regardless of her accident. She wasn't that dense not to notice.

"So, you remember then," he said sarcastically.

"I still can't remember," Akane scowled a little, he was being sarcastic again, and she hated that. For every step she took forward, he managed to pull her two steps back. She couldn't even read his reactions with his back on her... how rude of him. "But I'm not deaf, I'm not blind, and I'm certainly not stupid. I know what's going on around here."

He grunted, it looked like he was about to say something more but he continued to stare out the black night. "Can't we make a new beginning? Forget anything has happened? I'm a different person."

"It's too late for that, Kodachi. There is nothing left of this marriage, and there is nothing left to forgive. How much do you think **anyone** can forgive? And I am not a forgiving man. You know that."

"But that's it," Akane said softly moving towards him until only a chair remained in between them. "I don't know that, Ranma. I don't know why everyone hates me."

He whirled around. It took Akane her whole life's training of self-control not to shrink back from him. He was angry, that was probably the reason why he didn't face her. "You want to know? What do you want me to tell you?" He almost smiled at that, as if he was having the sadistic pleasure of telling her about her misdeeds.

He paused, waiting for her answer, but for the life of her, Akane could not speak. "Nothing? I'll pick it out for you then. You abuse the servants -- even though they are loyal to the Kunos. Flaunted your lovers -- and heaven knows that they don't need the flaunting you do -- of course you kill them afterwards. Drink yourself into stupors, poison anything that's moving and test out your little ribbons on anyone who gets in your way -- that was before you lost your gymnastics training to your vices, after that you ask Sasuke to do it for you."

Not knowing what to say she just stared at him and endured the words. She was the one who asked for it.

"I have gotten you speechless, Kodachi, that's a first." Ranma paused, looking at her. "Do you want me to continue? Should I tell you about the men you've seduced, the families you've torn apart? Or should I just skip that and tell you about the people you've left sick and those that you left so beaten up out to die?"

He left that for her to answer, when she didn't he tilted his head in mock appraisal. "Perhaps a story containing some -- or one that contains all? You once insinuated in public that you slept with a good man -- you want to remember his name? Does Daisuke ring any bells in that memory of yours? I knew he didn't, you knew it, hell the man **knew** he didn't. But his liege lord as certain as hell didn't know and denied him seppuku, which he deserved, he was hunted by my cousin... to the death, and left out for the dogs."

As a rule, a married woman may not even stay alone in a closed room with another man. The act was punishable by the woman's husband or his kin to take both their heads, Ranma's cousin did not know of Kodachi's misdeeds and thought her accusations to be true.

"His wife, poor over-emotional, fragile Sayuri who didn't know you for the scheming liar that you are, believed you. She didn't even ask to commit seppuku, she just did it... without a second! Her four-year-old son found her. She was ordered to be buried in the eta (5) village along with her son, who by the way, my cousin also killed."

"Why..."

"He killed them because he thought he was defending your **honor**. Mine and yours."

The story was interrupted by a maid, who quickly assessed the situation and backed off silently, wide-eyed at Ranma's gaze. Ranma let her get out before he continued.

"You dared to come up to the liege lord and offered your condolences for the loss of one of his vassals, shaming me yet again and tried to dig out the son in the eta village. You are a consummate liar and actress, Kodachi, but even you failed to stir the crowds that day. Later, I found out that your brother ordered the pathetic apology to save what scraps of honor you have left."

He clutched the katana he wore so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. For a brief moment, Akane envisioned her neck slashed, and her hand unconsciously shot up to her throat. It seemed as if he realized that he was about to break the hilt and let go of it immediately.

"You think you can come to me with a pretty pout and an absurd story that you don't remember anything? It's a grand game, Kodachi, but I don't believe any of it."

Akane was stunned, before she only pictured Kodachi as a shadow that moved about, with a couple of bad things here and bad things there. She never painted a picture of her so close to what Ranma spoke of. And suddenly, she knew why nobody liked her. She knew why she was being treated badly. "Then why are we still married?"

"Divorce is out of the question. We've talked about this before. The dojo and Rose Brier is yours. You are a bargaining chip, an ace of cards, a tactical advancement and I HAVE BEEN ORDERED TO. For that, I'd put up with you." He turned around and walked towards the door. "I think my appetite is gone. Goodnight, Kodachi."

"That's AKANE!" she shouted as she slumped down the chair. She held her tears back until Ranma completely left the room, then let it flow freely.

A mallet appeared quickly in her hands, but as it appeared, she quickly put it away. A destructive mood was not something she should get into right now. Besides, the way he moved she would never catch up.

A sob escaped her, in all her years, only two actually angered her enough to let her pull the damned mallet out. Ryoga was the first half, Ranma was the other. It seemed as if her husbands brought out the worst in her.

Things were more grim now, but not hopeless. Not yet anyway. After all what motive could she have to pretend amnesia?

-

Still burning with anger, Ranma headed out to the dojo, not bothering to grab a lantern on the way out, he knew the way even by night-light. It was one of the places in the house that actually soothed his nerves. It had an immediate effect on him as he entered. The dojo was one of the few places Kodachi entirely moved out of after their third year together. Only the box remained as her mark there at all.

He sighed as he stepped into the middle of the large room, he didn't even bother with the gas lamps. He started on the easiest katas he knew moving on to the hard ones. That way, he had time to think about what just happened.

He didn't notice Hanae by the doorway until she spoke up, "Daddy, are you all right?" He stopped at the middle of the move to look at her, running up to him. "Oh, daddy. I didn't ve-s-drop on you and 'dachi. I just saw you go out."

That was no surprise, Hanae was quite perceptive, and she knew where her father would go, he doubted that she did listen in, but it was a paper house after all... she didn't need to listen in, but wondered how she spotted him in the dark. "You did, huh?"

She nodded, and then smiled. "I went down to the kitchen to see if you ate..." She looked at the doorway. "So I brought you dinner, daddy. Aunty Nabiki was the one who actually told me to check on you."

For the first time, he noticed the tray at the door. It shouldn't have surprised him since Hanae had started to bring him his dinner instead of Yuka since her third birthday, but it did. "You carried that big tray again."

Sometimes Hanae gave him dinner when she was home and he came in late or something interrupted his meal like what happened this evening. Other times, Nabiki did this, sometimes, the cook, Yuka.

"Not that big," she protested as Ranma pulled her up in his arms, then got the tray on the way out. It was the lacquered one with legs of its own, one made for special occasions, not needing a table to separate the plates.

"Where do you want to eat this?" he asked, he still wanted to avoid the dining room, and was glad she chose the library.

Moving one cushion for her to sit in front of him, Ranma looked at the contents of the tray. Some maki, a bowl of rice and miso soup. He then proceeded to dividing everything in two, giving half to Hanae, they shared the small tray together as well. "My stomach and I thank you Hanae."

"Save some thanks for Yuka-san," she piped up, she was in a talkative mood tonight. "Yuka-san sent up a tray to 'dachi. She didn't eat, too."

When Ranma didn't say anything, Hanae tilted her head to look at him, something she picked up from her father and resumed talking, "She doesn't eat that much though. Yuka says 'dachi is starving herself."

There was a pregnant pause in the air and Ranma got the feeling Hanae was waiting for him to tell her what happened, as he usually did, but he didn't. Things between Kodachi and him were still too complicated. She was after all, still six years old.

"Everyone in the kitchen thinks she's starving herself," Hanae said after a while. Ranma filed that information at the back of his mind then steered the conversation to another topic, he has had enough Kodachi for one day.

Talking about the past, especially concerning his wife didn't awaken good memories for him and Hanae understood his want to keep it at that. He didn't even know what he would do if Kodachi would continue with this charade of hers. At least he told her what he thought about it, and then it would end soon.

* * *

The next morning, Akane woke up early, before the servants did, before the sun rose, and probably before Hanae and Ranma. Pulling a green robe over her thin cotton shift, she walked barefoot towards the kitchen. She smiled at the feel of the tatami. 

The apartment Ryoga and she owned was carpeted and the Tendo household which was appointed with tatami... was so long ago. She glanced appreciatively at the floor and rushed out to make tea.

She blinked outside and smiled because the sun hasn't risen yet. That was good, she wanted to catch the sunrise and today it would be spectacular.

In a world full of technology, you tended not to realize what beauty nature held. Her father taught her that -- when he managed to take them out on training trips when she was younger. Later, Ryoga brought her around to loving outdoors, mostly because he usually got them lost on one of his trips.

Putting the green leaves into the water, Akane smiled as she walked towards the porch to watch the day begin -- she just hoped her culinary skills were adequate for some tea.

That was how Ranma-chan and Hanae saw her, looking at the sky's first light. Hanae couldn't resist teasing her father, "She looks like a different person. She's beautiful, don't you think, daddy?"

"If you like the crazy lunatic types," Ranma-chan muttered too soft to hear as he looked out Hanae's window. "How many times are you going to ask that?"

"Until you answer me!" She giggled then looked at her father, tilting her head to the side. Hanae usually crept up to her father's room in the morning so that they would go down to eat breakfast together when he was there. "So, shall I tell her you're my father, my foster mother or my first mother... what?"

Ranma-chan scowled at Hanae's obvious joy from her discomfort, which made her laugh even more. "Don't tell me you believe what that woman says. You know better than that!"

"Well, what should I tell her when she sees a strange woman in my father's clothes?" She pointed out rather smartly.

"Ughhh...if she really has amnesia, I don't want to scare her. Not yet anyway," she answered, ruffling Hanae's unruly hair. "And if she's lying, she'd go with the flow or stop it. We'll lose nothing."

"Oh goodie! We get to play pretend!" Hanae shouted happily clapping her hands together. "We don't get to do that much!"

Ranma-chan nodded carrying Hanae off the shoji window, which miraculously enough, supported her, and walked towards the kitchen. They still needed that hot water. Somehow, while they slept Hanae managed to upturn a glass of water she kept in the side of her futon over him.

Akane didn't hear them enter, which was just as well. Ranma-chan wanted to get in, get the hot water, and get out. Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy. Akane used up all the hot water in her drink, which meant she needed to boil another round, which ultimately meant, she'd notice them.

Putting Hanae down, she took the kettle and filled it with water, then placed it over the charcoal brazier. At that, Akane turned around, and jumped at the two of them.

"Sheesh, you scared me to death!" Akane said holding her hand near her heart. "Why'd you sneak up on me like that?"

"We didn't," Ranma said flatly leaning against the counter. "It's you who's been jumpy. You've done that twice already. At dinner and today."

At that, Akane turned towards him. Ranma had to hand it to her. She really was a good actress. She managed to look at Ranma-chan as though this was the first time that Ranma's girl form ever made an appearance.

"How did you know that? I haven't seen you around here before..." she trailed off then looked expectantly at Hanae for introductions.

"Oh?" Ranma raised her eyebrow in perfect imitation of Nabiki's, though she guessed that the hostility was lost on Kodachi. At that moment, she knew Kodachi was pretending. Any woman, even Kodachi, would blow up to see another woman in her husband's clothes. "I haven't been around lately."

She would hear Kodachi though, if nothing else. And when Kodachi grew tired of this little game, she would get out of Rose Brier as she usually did. Besides, with Kodachi's usual ranting, she made the servants believe Ranko was Ranma's consort -- a lot of people believed she had many consorts. She never corrected them.

"Wait, you're one of the people who took care of me when I was unconscious!" Akane said, a flicker of recognition crossing her face. She smiled bowing deeply. "Thanks."

That surprised Ranma and Hanae took some moments before she finally re-introduced her father. They never heard so much as a whisper of gratitude coming from Kodachi. It was startling.

"Miss 'dachi meet one of my family, Ranko." Hanae said smiling, they had done the fake introductions before and they used that name. So far, only Ranma's family and a select few know about the truth. "Ranko, my daddy's wife, Miss 'dachi."

"Please, call me Akane," Akane said, taking her time to bow deeply once again. At first, Ranma didn't want reciprocate the bow, especially since her girl-type bow looked extremely unladylike. Ranma also noted that she was still calling herself by that ridiculous name. However when Hanae glared at her for the pleasantry, Ranma grudgingly complied.

"Why are you guys up so early?" Akane asked, looking back out towards the gardens once again.

"Oh, we're always up early," Hanae informed her then realized that Kodachi was never really up in the wee hours of the morning. She dested the dawn and hated the chirping birds that alighted on her window, claiming that their screeching songs woke her up. "Though, you don't like that..."

They always counted on the fact that Kodachi woke up late to sneak out. Though Kodachi never saw Hanae, Hanae always saw her. After she learned stealth tricks her father taught her. She always wondered about the woman her father married. When Hanae sneaked off to see Kodachi, she received more than she bargained for when the woman spotted her. She kept that meeting from her father.

"I love the morning, I sit here every day and watch the sun come up." She looked outside and hugged herself. "I love it here."

Ranma stared at her back open mouthed then looked at Hanae. Kodachi never expressed love for anything except her reflection. She stepped out into the porch and tiptoed to reach Akane's forehead with mock concern. "Are you sick again?"

-

Akane whirled around to face Ranma indignant at the way that the new-comer was treating her. "What's wrong about," she trailed off as she saw Ranko under good light. She was short, shorter than her so she needed to step back to see the girl properly.

Her red hair was bed-rumpled and some locks of it fell across her shoulder. Two deep blue eyes, alert even though Akane could've sworn she just came from bed. But what caught her attention more than anything else was what she wore.

Black silk pants which were obviously too long for her and a Red Chinese shirt with the top buttons opened revealing she wore nothing underneath. They continued staring at each other, Ranko's eyes turned to steel as she watched her. If Ranko was anything like her husband, Akane realized, it meant she has just decided to be angry with her. At the corner of her eyes, she saw Hanae wince. 'What is **she** angry about anyway?' Akane fumed, she was about to speak up when Ranko beat her to it.

"You **hate** Rose Brier," she spat out going back to the kitchen. "It's too quiet, it bores you. You hate this drafty house, the old dojo. You hate the crash of the waters and complain that **that** is too noisy. You hate the servants, you hate **me**. And now you're telling me that you love it?"

Ranma stopped in front of Hanae who flinched at her father's tirade. Akane guessed that Ranko usually refrained from raising her voice in front of the child. She started out softly but the end was a shout, "And since when do you get up at the crack of dawn? What is going on here?" The last was a question said geared more towards herself than Akane.

"You mean Ranma hasn't told you?" Akane asked curiously, anger disappearing at Ranko's bafflement.

"What's there to--" Ranko stopped herself from saying anything more. She didn't want to play Kodachi's game and threw up her hands. "Kodachi, let's stop this charade. You know very well that I know what your dear Ranma knows, so what is going on here?"

Akane walked over to the kitchen picking up her mug from the porch. "Am-ne-sia," she drew each syllable slowly and clearly that clearly said she did not believe that.

"Amnesia," Ranko repeated, frowning and looking at the confused child taking everything in. "Don't tell me you're hanging on that ridiculous story of yours."

"He told you?" Akane squeaked out. It must mean that he at least thinks it sane enough to tell anybody, the bad part about it is that of all the people he could have told it to, he told it to Ranko.

"Yes! No! Well, sorta. But that's not the point."

"OK. Fine, amnesia it is then." She put down the mug and tugged the robe. "I'm going up to change then walk along the beach before breakfast. Either one of you want to come?"

Hanae shook her head, and Ranko just stared at her blankly. "I--uh, my mother is coming for a visit. Feel free to go to the city." She took Hanae up and got the steaming kettle--already boiling because she left it alone and turned to go.

"Why would I want to go to the city?" Akane asked bewildered at the odd request. "And what city?

Ranko turned around slowly, Akane was surprised she could hold Hanae with her left hand alone while holding the kettle of water away from her body, Hanae seemed to almost be half as high as she was. "Surely it won't come as a surprise that you despise my family and they completely and passionately reciprocate the feeling. In fact, I can't believe that you're still here. Do run along to Nerima now," she said that with such biting sarcasm that Akane had to wonder what Kodachi did to her.

"Oh..." Akane bit her lip, something both Ranko and Hanae have not seen Kodachi do before and took in with another puzzled glance. "I think I'll stay and meet them."

Ranko angrily raised her hand to swipe her hair, and realized that she had a steaming kettle in that hand and Hanae on the other. She looked at Akane frustrated. Swallowing the anger she felt she said a prayer for patience closed then opened her eyes slowly. "I don't think that's a good idea. And now that you've decided to meet my family, I am forbidding it. When I said you could go to town it wasn't a suggestion."

"She didn't think you'd want to stay," Hanae offered. "They don't have the same pa-sie-se as daddy has with you. You put them through enough pain without having them sub-je-cted to your present state of mind."

Akane would have looked at Hanae curiously and wonder how a child could come to **that** piece of conclusion, but since she was in the brink of her temper she pointed at Ranko. "This is my house, isn't it?" She was surprised that it had taken her this long to raise her voice. "And I **am** mistress of this household. Since you seem to be Hanae's relative and that Hanae is Ranma's daughter, I am allowing that, but I'm **not** going to be thrown out of my own house. By someone who doesn't own it at that!"

She stopped when she saw that Hanae was hiding a smile behind her hand and Ranko was looking at the girl with a touch of irritation by that gesture. Akane folded her arms to her sides.

"I am still your master and you are married to--"

"My master? Last time I checked... Ranma was doing that plenty."

Ranma completely forgot he was in girl form... she had him there. But then Kodachi knew about the Jusenkyo curse. All it would take to stir that memory of hers was cup of hot water. She started to upend the kettle over her head, but Nabiki-kun's voice stopped her before the kettle could pour any water.

"Stop that." Ranma-chan turned around to see Nabiki-kun in her cursed form, a male that looked completely like Ranma. She had grown her hair a long time ago, since their foster father suggested that they could exchange places at selected times. It served as an advantage if she could pretend to be him. "Kodachi, I forbid you to meet Lady Nodoka. You are ordered to the Nerima house immediately. The kaga will be waiting for your departure after first meal."

Ranma-chan looked at Nabiki-kun who was currently in his Chinese clothes. With the exception of Nabiki-kun's dampness they looked like mirror images. Ranma winced. They must have woken her up, and Nabiki wasn't a morning person.

"You cannot order me out of my own house!"

"YES I CAN! I am the master of this house and you are just my wife, your loyalties are to your liege lord who has no say on this matter and then to me." Nabiki was doing such a good impersonation of Ranma that Ranma let them argue. It was better for his sanity to keep out of the fight.

"And then what?" Akane asked rebelliously. "Make me commit Seppuku?"

"Seppuku is an honor! You have no honor and therefore you are forbidden to seppuku."

"Then what will you do? You can't do anything because this is my house. The contract of the Kuno estate safeguarded my death." Akane smiled, she still controlled the situation with the little bits of information she got from Ranma last night.

Anger was showing in Ranma-chan's eyes already, going against her own decision that she was not going to interfere with Nabiki she asked, "Why are you so interested in my relatives anyway?"

"You brought up a good point, why should I let **your** relatives meet you here?"

"You're making me answer my own question, Kodachi," Ranma answered evenly, as she turned to walk away from her yet again.

"Whatever you say, I **will** stay here," Akane said forcefully bringing her hand down on Ranma-chan's shoulder. The girl ignored it but stopped. "I won't do anything bad to your family and I hope they don't do it to me. And my name is AKANE."

She stomped past them and cursed the pig in anger. It was impossible.

Reaching her room, she kicked the robe across the floor. "I have nothing to lose. NOTHING."

-

Watching Kodachi go, Hanae sighed as Ranma-chan tested the water. It looked like it wasn't boiling anymore and poured it over himself to reverse the curse. "She was pretty mad." Hanae whispered.

"She always is." Ranma muttered offering the rest of the water to Nabiki-kun, who smiled ruefully.

"I swear if I had a koban (6) for every time you wake me up fighting with Kodachi, I'll be richer than the Emperor." Nabiki's voice shifted octaves as she emptied the kettle over her head.

Ranma didn't speak until they reached the dining room and sat there looking out to the garden. The household help would be rising soon, it was against custom to be asleep when the master was awake, if the samurai didn't wake them, he was sure the fighting did. "Why did you stop me, Nabiki?"

His sister smiled as she stared at the koi pond that she could see from the dining room. "Because I wanted to see if she truly has lost her memory."

Ranma nodded, that was wise, in an angry state the mind did not work and at the way the conversation rang out in the kitchen, he was a little bit inclined to think she really did have amnesia. "Did she?"

"I honestly don't know, I thought so, back when she was ordering me, but... she disobeyed the order, and you know as well as I do if she truly had amnesia she would at least obey."

"We still don't know, do we?"

"Things are going to be interesting around here," Nabiki commented, looking at the teapot and the cup she brought for herself. She stared at the leaves, wishing there was some truth in the tea arts and that she could read her future in it.

"Kodachi thinks that Ranko's your consort," Hanae piped up, not glad that she was left out of the conversation. "She thinks that Grandma Nodoka is Ranko's relatives."

"They are," He answered truthfully, motioning to Sasuke who was standing in the shade of the garden who had remained unnoticed until now. Ranma asked motioned for him to take Hanae to the bathing house.

"What will she think if they walk in here and be all chummy to you?" Hanae asked inquisitively, she had always been a curious child.

"It's not her business to know who they are," Nabiki answered for him as she patted Hanae's head and requested Sasuke to rouse Sei for his bath and morning practice as well. "She's your wife." Nabiki looked at him when Hanae was gone. She hadn't seen her brother confused like this about Kodachi in ages.

Looking at her, he found Nabiki's words displeasing. He did not want to talk about Kodachi more than he had to. "Why are you defending her, Nabiki?"

Nabiki shrugged as she stood up from the cushions. "I'm not defending her, brother. I'm merely trying to sort the truth from distortion. Sickness of the mind is one thing a doctor cannot prove." She smiled at the soft breeze. "Care to spar Ranma?"

He cocked his head to the side at the unusual request. Nabiki has not asked for a sparring session in a very long time... not since she married, not since she returned. He accepted willingly because she was his sister, because she was one of the few people he enjoyed fighting with and because he knew that she would never hold back in a fight with him.

They stood at the garden the koi pond to the right the rock garden to Nabiki's back. She smiled, it was unsettling. They both knew that Nabiki could outwait Ranma, so the first move was his... he was much more impatient than his sister.

The first blow came. Nabiki blocked it with her left hand. In the next one she wasn't so lucky, she grunted. "Why did we learn martial arts?"

Ranma shrugged as he jumped backward making Nabiki's roundhouse kick hit the air, he let her take the offensive before continuing, "To serve Lord Happosai to the best of our abilities, through **any** ability."

Nabiki was a respectable martial artist in her own right, but she was not as good as her brother. She has not trained as rigidly as he had because she needed to learn the womanly arts but Genma always made it a point to treat them equally. Because of this equal treatment, their techniques were almost parallel to each other.

She followed the punch with an aerial kick, she missed, she almost laughed, her brother had a 'don't hit girls policy'. But then he found out the hard way that he always needed to strike first in a match with her. It took him a two-day staring match to learn that.

Besides, she had other talents, her manipulative skills and her ability to be a spy for her lord just a few of them. "No aside from that."

"To protect my vassals and all under my house, to guard my fief..." Ranma danced around her blows, she wasn't at all irked at this, she had only one purpose for this match, and it wasn't to win.

Tiring of being in the defensive and noting that the koi was already dangerously close, Ranma went offensive. He did not try to slow his punches down and treated Nabiki as he would Genma or one of his powerful playmates. Nabiki stopped when Ranma was in mid-punch. He was surprised, it took no little effort for him to stop it... and he managed to stop the blow centimeters from Nabiki's nose.

"Am I your vassal, Ranma?" Nabiki asked solemnly, he shook his head. "Then why did you pull your blows when I merit no protection, and why did you stop that fist from connecting to my face? Why dishonor me by doing that? Why insult my abilities?"

"Because in a way I decide who I hurt. You're not one of those people."

There was silence, she had her brother now. "Kodachi, is she your vassal?"

"In a way..."

"She is your wife and she is under your household. No matter how foul her manner is, no matter how we both hate her and no matter how she makes our lives a living hell you were ordered to marry her, to protect her. I was ordered the same thing. No matter how we both detest those orders, we must live with it."

Ranma let his hands drop to his side. For the first time Nabiki noticed the sheen of perspiration on Ranma's temple. She was sure that it didn't come from overexertion as hers. Her brother too physically fit for him to be winded by an extremely slow sparring session. She had not been sure if he had time to stop that blow but she trusted him enough not to hurt her. Both of them stood there in silence waiting for the other to pick up the conversation.

"Yes... but that doesn't mean I have to make her life any easier. It doesn't mean I have to like her." She heard him whisper to himself.

* * *

Endnotes: 

(1) Was Ranma going to **kiss **Kodachi/Akane? Quite frankly... no. I wasn't sure what he was going to do, and he wasn't sure what he was going to do anyway... besides... kissing is a Western idea. Kissing in front of the house even though with a lot of people is a bad idea. Kissing (if this ever happened in feudal Japan) is restricted to lemons in feudal Japan... :)

(2) **Sei**: family name  
sex, gender  
spirit  
holy, sacred, saintly

Okay... here it means spirit (am I sounding like a dictionary already?) meaning the soul. But Nabiki chose this name for her son because... well... you need to proceed to the middle of the  
series to get this out of me.

(3) Since it might do you well to know this little bit of info since it's been mentioned three times already:

Where is the **hell** Tokaido (cheap Ryoga imitation)?

First I'll have to say that the Tokaido is a large subdivision in olden time Japan meaning the East Sea Way. This is what the entire Saotome Clan holding was.

I used Kanto before, Kanto is the MODERN day equivalent of what we use in the fic as Sagami. The Kanto district is located in S-Central Honshu. (This is where Tokyo, then Edo, is.)

I am placing Briar Rose in the Kanto region in the Kanagawa prefecture (then named Sagami so I renamed everything again), Kamakura City, Nerima ward.

**Nerima **is... well... Nerima is the ward in Kamakura City... see it limits everything. I also refer to _the Nerima House/ the Nerima donjon/the city of Nerima_ as the main holding of Ranma, outside of Kamakura but inside Sagami. I know it's not a city, but sometimes things need to be simplified.

I know, I know Nerima a ward in Tokyo, thus making it in Edo. Ok, but I understand but I need a place familiar setting, I need somewhere in the Kanagawa prefecture. I'm not researching a new **ward** when Nerima is perfect for the taking. Oh and yes, Nerima means trainig horses, or something similar. (You might wanna know if you don't know yet)

So if you see a holiday, it's not gonna be a Tokyo holiday but a Kamakura one :)

**Tokaido **is the main group where all Saotome samurai reside, roughly translating to the East Sea Way. Tokaido is classified as a route or a circuit. **Sagami **is a kuni (roughly translating to country but more similar in meaning to province than country) Sagami is divided into kōri which are counties, and **Kamakura** is a city.

So, let's just say that Sagami prefect is the main han, this was divided into little subgroups (cities) that are divided into smaller subgroups (wards) so that the daimyo (Ranma) can go about his chores (ruling the big thing) easily.

Incidentally in History before the Sekigahara battle, that was the battle that Tokugawa took hold of leadership, a Saotome was the daimyo of Tateyama in Awa with a koku reenue of 90,000. He was Tokugawa's partizan.

(4) **'Love **is a western idea'? Yes, well in feudal Japan I found out that the word love/ai doesn't exist! (How nice!). I bended the rules a little I looked up ai and saw it also means affection. I have a suspicion they took it from the Chinese word... now though they have levels of how to say 'I love you'. Of course in the olden times, Japanese DON'T say what they feel out loud, you have to second-guess.

(5) What are **eta**? Eta (much filth) are the lowest caste in feudal Japan. Generally they do tasks, which to Japanese seem unclean. They work as tanners leather workers butchers and handlers of dead bodies, which in Buddhism is unclean. They could not marry outside their caste (which is hereditary) and are forced to live separately from the general populace. They were given family names that marked them as eta. In the Meji era, the caste was abolished renaming them barakumin (village dweller), but the caste still unofficially exists.

This means stepping on eta ground was a very BAD idea. Being buried in eta ground is a dishonor... :) or a punishment depending on how you see it.

I mentioned this before, but if I explained it then, you might forget it by the time Ranma's telling his tale of Kodachi's misdeeds :). It merits more of an explanation now anyway.

(6) **Koban **and Koku: this is not the police box... a koban is roughly equivalent to 3 koku. It is a gold coin, which weighs 18 grams. Koku is the measurement of rice, this is what liege lords pay to their samurai vassals... What? Did you expect YEN to be actually alive back in the 1600s?

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Ranma 1/2 and the book I based it from is  
When there is Hope, and if you sue me you can't possibly get money from  
me.

* * *

**Special Thanks to**: MJ, Maurice Phillip, Tony Loco, Dream and Angel, Jourdan Bickham, Jose Aragao, Byooki Desu, Anno Nimus, C. Jones, Richard Robinson, David Bateson, David Stanley, Jitou, King Chan,  
Lawrence Chu, Bert Miller, The Dragonbard, Darthcwader1, Erin,  
Outlawone1, David Calvarese, Larry F 

And to the person reading this.

* * *

**Author's notes:**

We are still very much paralleling When there is Hope in this chapter. Quite possibly because I managed to write out six whole chapters before deciding to reset the story in Medieval Japan.

It's a refreshing change isn't it? Akane stepping around and trying to second guess Ranma's feelings. And Ranma doesn't get to be malleted in here... not even once!

So, now do you guys realize why I just had to have Nabiki as Ranma's sister:) **Devilish laugh** More plans on them... more flashbacks... (isn't it frustrating though one step forward and then I suddenly thrust you back in the past?)

Sorry about that, the reason for that is I want both the past and Ranma's present running parallel (uhh... am I making sense?) In the same way, you're as ignorant as Ranma's past as Akane's... but in time you start to know more while she's still clue-less. :)

I hope this comes out right :))

* * *

**Revision History :  
**04/02/06 -- common errors in the English language  
01/14/06 -- changed tenses (had) changed quotation mark punctuation  
10/19/05 -- grammar  
12/20/03 -- Extensive revision. A lot of grammar but there were 788 words added (I keep tab of the wordcount... hehe)

* * *

**website: **ice _dot_ esmartdesign _dot _com  
**e-mail**: siuane _at_ gmail _dot _com  
**livejournal**: ice _underscore_ of _underscore_ dreams

* * *

We sometimes tend to forget that criticsm is better than praise, when  
we criticize we say that the other person has the ability to accept  
our words and take it as a challenge to become better because of this.

my teacher (hehehe)

* * *

I write when the spirit moves, and I make sure it moves every day. 


	6. Part 5 : April

**Revision Notes**:  
04/02/06 -- common mistakes in the English language  
01/14/06 -- changed tense (had), changed quotation mark punctuation  
10/18/05 -- Final run through by iCe  
09/11/04 -- Some grammar revision. All minor. Took out the nasty parenthesis that was making it look weird.

* * *

**Little note before you start anything:**

Some mention of sex but that's it. If you're below 13 it might not be advisable.  
Special Thanks and Disclaimer at the bottom

* * *

To thee I'll return, overburdened with care;  
The heart's dearest solace will smile on there;  
No more from that cottage again will I roam;  
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.  
**John Howard Payne**  
_Home Sweet Home_

* * *

**Rendezvous with Fate V.3  
**by iCe  
Chapter 5

_...Ranko -- or should I say Ranma's family is an unusual bunch. Nabiki... I don't know what to make of her... she made it so hard for me to understand her... such a complex person..._

* * *

Nabiki watched as Ranma trained her only son in the Art that only the Saotome Clan possessed -- the Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu. Although Nabiki was apt in the Arts, she was not good at teaching the said topic. Since her brother was better than her, she mostly deferred to him when they trained the children. If he was too busy, she took over the training but followed the strict regimen that he set for them.

Nabiki watched in the sidelines as Ranma demonstrated the move for the first time, physical fighting wasn't her specialty. Her eyes moved towards her son. He looked so much like his father. A particularly unpleasant memory surfaced from that encounter. She usually managed to block memories from the end of her marriage but today, she was helpless as the memories overtook her.

She was twenty-four again, looking at the dead man in the middle of her tatami in shock. 'This cannot be happening to me...' she thought, rising from the blood soaked tatami. She tried to call for one of her samurai escorts, but her throat was dry. The first signs of shock started to seep into her veins.

Her husband, Sugoshi, summoned by the ruckus about his wife, found her moments later staring at the dead body. He knelt in front of the dead man to examine him, and was surprised to find out that it was his brother, Omoi. Equally disturbing was the long sword protruding through is back identifiable as Nabiki's own. It was well known the two have not been agreeing lately.

Sugoshi said a few words as he shook her, but she heard only one question, "What reason did you have for killing him?"

Nabiki gulped. Her voice has not returned yet. Everything was just a haze surrounding her. Another blow came. 'Oh... Kami... what will I do... he will order me to commit seppuku! Sei... I'm sorry...' Shortly, Sugoshi carried Omoi out and left her alone with two samurai guards just outside her shoji, far enough for her not to see but close enough to catch her if she escaped. She wondered briefly if her husband would go to their liege lord... He probably will.

She snapped out of her stupor when she felt the trickle of water against her face. She slowly reached out for the water stilling the hands that ministered her, only to look at her son. Her five year old son held a rag and a bowl of water to wash her face.

"Okaasan, I don't believe that you killed uncle. You couldn't have," the child whispered the damp rag moving across the caked blood on her face. Her disjointed thoughts noted that she would have to teach him how to wash a wound properly. This would never do for a son of a samurai. "You always told me that uncle was that way because he cares for us, you wouldn't have killed him."

To have one child believe her was no match for the entire clan shunning her. Nabiki was convinced she would die if she didn't turn insane first. But she held her son's small hand against her face taking some reassurance from his touch. Licking her cracked lips she managed to speak to him, "Go on Sei. Go to your father. If he sees you here... Does he know you're with me? Did any of the guards see you enter?"

The guards were loyal to her husband and her son was expected to adhere to that same allegiance. Sei would be charged treason if he was found with her, especially tending to her wounds at a time like this. It didn't matter that she was his mother. It didn't matter if he was barely a child. He would be tried as an adult, especially since her supposed crime was severe.

"No, okaasan, Foster Mother Sewa (1) said she won't tell father that I came here. She'd cover for me like when I get lost in the forest. No one was guarding the window so I used it. It was just enough for me to squeeze through." He smiled a little, and Nabiki's heart went out to her son, he was only trying to cheer her up. "It's been some sticks since you were supposed to check on my writing. When you didn't visit me, I thought something was wrong, you never forget anything and you're never late... so I came here. You were hurt and--"

"Sei, if your father sees you here..." Nabiki's eyes went to the shoji, her impeccable hearing picking up the footsteps of her husband. She stood up and opened the shoji window opposite her hugging Sei as she whispered, "Listen to me, my son. You must remember what I tell you. Go to the forest, take the fork in the road less traveled by, do you know that?"

He nodded. Nabiki was relieved. It would lessen the problems. It was good that her son loved the forest. "At the end of that road, you will find a hut. It belongs to one of your uncle's old samurai. Tell him that you're my son and that you need passage to Ranma Saotome. Wait for me, if I don't arrive within a day flee as fast as you can to Ranma, tell him everything you know. Run as fast as the wind my son."

'He's just a little boy... ' He leapt out of the shoji. Nabiki frantically shut the window Sei used to exit and sat in the middle of the room taking the bowl and the cloth into her hands just as Sugoshi entered the room.

"The Lord Kintaro (2) has ordered your presence immediately." Kintaro was the head of the clan and the local daimyo.

"As you wish..." Nabiki answered setting the bowl aside and trying to stand up with as much dignity as she could muster. She swayed a little but refused help from her maid or the samurai that flanked her.

Sugoshi grasped her shoulder as she passed him. "Tell me Nabiki, did you kill my brother?" There was a pleading in his eyes. "If you say yes, Lord Kintaro might be able to permit to you seppuku... admit it Nabiki and you will not be cast away or put to death like a common criminal."

She shuddered at his offer. Yet, she truly did not kill Omoi and hell would freeze over before any woman like Nabiki would admit another person's crime. She looked him in the eye before she gave her response, "I never touched Lord Omoi, my lord. Although it is my shame that my sword was stolen from me and used against his murder, I will not claim any act that I have not done. I still have my honor."

The days that followed were long and tiring. Although she half expected some dire punishment, she was not hanged like some common criminal. On the seventh day, Ranma came and visited her at the newly instigated prisons to try to ease matters for her.

She stood before him as a man and not as a woman. Someone knocked a bowl of water onto her face, activating the Jusenkyo curse. To add to her discomfort, she was also ordered to leave all her garments before entering the cell. Not only was she dirty, but she was freezing because of the lack of garments.

Nabiki-kun flinched at the sudden rush of cold air, but welcomed it. It was a dramatic change from the fetid smell of the cells. She started to shiver and restrained her muscles. To show distress at her current situation would make her lose what scraps of pride she has left.

It was good her brother did not comment on the small cringe, he was close enough and fast enough to notice it. At least her pride was still intact. She still has that, if nothing else. She **will** keep whatever shards of it.

"Do you want me to buy you out, Nabiki?" Ranma asked concerned, it wasn't common practice to buy prisoners. It wasn't common practice to **have** prisoners at all. The jail was a new sanction. Before the jails trials were held and then death was imminent. It seemed pointless to have holding cells. Confinement was only there to prolong the inevitable. The common belief was that prison did not stop crime but merely abated it for a time (3). Prisoners were ultimately killed.

"I didn't do it, Ranma, and you know as hell I didn't either," she spat out.

"I know. It was Kodachi." It was Kodachi's testimony against Nabiki that solidified the case. Kodachi admitted this to Ranma, telling him in detail that she used Nabiki's brother-in-law to get into Lord Kintaro's stronghold for some ingredients she needed for a potion, after she had sex with him in Nabiki's room, she killed him off.

It was the perfect plan. It was known that Omoi was secretly in love with Nabiki. Nabiki didn't realize this, but they fought often and loudly. She was the perfect scapegoat.

Nabiki suspected Kodachi with the stealing of her sword, but she didn't imagine her sister-in-law could do something like this. Kodachi was at the gathering when she lost her precious sword, and Nabiki guarded her sword well. The sleek katana was her mother's gift when Nabiki mastered all the styles required to use it. It would have taken extraordinary means to steal the sword from her. "It seems your wife always is at the thick of things. I wonder why that old man ordered you to marry the woman in the first place."

"This isn't--"

"I know. Is... my son all right?"

"He is."

"Teach him how to be a good samurai and how to use the family art." She hesitated for a second, she wanted the best for her son and she believed that her brother could give him that. "Refuse him to his father, change his name if necessary, and tell him he's a Saotome. ADOPT HIM." Nabiki gave him no time to protest. Maybe she kept Sei from his father for selfish reasons, but she would not have her son to grow up hating her. He would if he remained here.

"Ikkasei (4) Nabiki?" The guard called from the gate.

Ranma's eyes moved towards them. "Do you want me to come with you?"

Her hand sought for his, he squeezed it and she let it go. "Please." Ranma requested some hot water from the guards, who obliged him without question.

Fortunately for her, she wasn't sentenced to death like a common criminal. Unfortunately, she wasn't permitted to seppuku. Her name was stricken off the Ikkasei Clan. She was also forbidden to become a nun. She was shocked. The only other solution was for her would be to go back home, but if Happosai turned her down what possible life could she lead? Being a ronin did not appeal to her. Not when she has a son.

"She must be branded (5) first before she leaves. She will never step in our domain again," one of the old men said as he took out a metal rod thrusting it into a burning pyre. Her screams of agony were shameful, even to her ears. Ranma stood in a ready stance, which to anyone not practicing Anything Goes Martial Arts looked like he was just watching the proceedings. With his eyes he asked her if he should attack Kintaro and save her, she refused.

To this day Nabiki wondered what lunacy persuaded her to refuse her brother's offer. Maybe war between the clans. Possibly because she didn't want Ranma to die, even he could not defeat Kintaro amidst hundreds of vassals alone. But most of all she refused Ranma because she needed to see her son alive, because she needed to spare him from the orders to receive the same shame that his mother received.

She knew that from the moment the boy escaped from his foster mother that she damned her son to a similar fate. That was why she ordered him to seek sanctuary in Nerima. Ranma could protect her only son. She lost her first child. She was not going to lose another.

Against her prediction, Happosai grudgingly welcomed her back into the household. He gave strict orders that her conduct was under review and that she was under Ranma's jurisdiction. She was told not to leave the boundaries of her brother's domain, Sagami, unless she has Happosai's permission.

When she got her hands on Kodachi, Nabiki drew her knife against her. Nabiki was willing to kill Kodachi then even if the woman's death would undoubtedly lead to her own. Ranma's marriage to Kodachi has countless rules which included sacrificing Nabiki should Kodachi ever die by Saotome blade.

Kodachi wasn't much of a fight, she didn't keep up with her training, her form was lousy and her movements slow, jerky and predictable. Nabiki had her knife on her throat easily. "You lying, scheming bitch! Tell me why I shouldn't end your life right now?"

"Because you can't." Blood trickled from the knife, which already broke skin. Kodachi looked up to her eye to eye.

Nabiki held the knife at the throat for a moment then threw Kodachi down on the tatami, damning herself for the move she couldn't make. Her foster father was right. He raised the twins too soft. She turned to talk to Ranma who was standing on the sidelines, mindful of the rules.

"I knew it," Kodachi rasped her hand clutching her bleeding neck, knowing instantly that the wound was superficial. She wiped the line of blood before speaking, "For all your bravado, you could never kill in a duel of honor."

Steeling herself, Nabiki turned back, her eyes slowly regarding Kodachi. "There's nothing honorable about killing an honorless woman like you Lady **Saotome**, but that wound will be just like the kanji on my back. I prefer that you suffer here, a hell on earth, rather than be reborn or go to whatever seven hells Christianity believes in. I still have my honor, though in scraps, it will keep me warm. However **you** are nothing but a cheating liar. You **have** no honor."

"If I'm the one who has no honor," Kodachi drew out, madness present in her eyes again as Sasuke helped her up. "Then why is it you who has been banished?"

"But I was accepted back! If you were thrown out Kodachi, would anyone care enough to accept you again?" There was a ringing in her ears that she wished would die down. She knew that some intervention happened in her case. In exile, Nabiki would never be able to step into Saotome territory again, and Happosai was not overly fond of her. Somehow, she knew Happosai would not take her in again.

Ranma went to his sister's side looking the cuts and bruises Kodachi managed to inflict. Kodachi may be out of shape, but she still has some semblance of skill, they rounded the corner of the house before she finally took his offered arm. "I'm sorry for being weak, Ranma."

"It wasn't weakness. Kodachi would still scoff us in death, at least alive -- alive she suffers mortality just as we do." Ranma offered his sister a smile. "You were right Nabiki, killing Kodachi won't remove the past, making sure she lives through it will. It will sting her pride to know she's beaten -- beaten by a woman who she damned."

"No, nothing can erase our past," she said it with regret. At least she was back, even she doubted her own return. His smile was infectious and she soon found herself giving him a small one back. It was good to be home, exhausting, but good.

Ranma, knowing their current conversation would just yield bitter results, wiped the drying blood on Nabiki's cheek diverting her attention. "Is this the way you return? Soaked in blood and letting Kodachi get to your nerves?"

"It's hard not to, Kodachi always grates my nerves," Nabiki whispered, and then maybe because she was exhausted, or maybe because she was completely numb from her encounter with all the people she saw the past few days, Saotome Nabiki collapsed in her brother's arms for the first time in so many years.

For the first time in days, she found respite from the inquiry and time to recuperate from her wounds. She did not have to worry about the stinging sensation in her back, or her lost husband. She did not need to worry about the woman who sullied her name. She was safe. She was in her brother's hands.

Nabiki didn't worry about her son's disappearance from her husband's fief, the foster mother she chose was loyal to her... and smart. She would cover for her son's disappearance, and would probably weave up something like he was lost in the forest, which was, in a way, true. Her son would be forever lost in the forest to the Ikkasei. Forever lost to them.

Sugoshi sought for her one day and asked Happosai her whereabouts, Happosai told him he ordered her killed. She never heard from Sugoshi again.

Nabiki managed to flee her husband for so long because of her training with Genma, her brother's vigilance and Jusenkyo. The curse, which her husband never found out, was her savior.

Ranma broke her out of the memories with worry clear in his blue eyes and small frantic waving to catch her attention. "Hey, Nabiki, you all right?"

Nabiki forced a smile. "Yes... I'm fine. Really, Ranma, thank you for your concern, but shouldn't you be watching the children spar?"

He cocked his head to the side sitting down beside Nabiki. "I let them take a break some time ago Nabiki, I've been trying to talk to you ever since."

She mumbled a weak apology but Ranma waved it off, he was sure she remembered her husband again. Her son was growing up to be the spitting image of his father. "Would it hurt so much to share so great a burden with me?"

Folding her hands neatly on her lap, she diverted the topic, "How come Happosai agreed on letting me in the clan again? It's against practice, most women would turn ronin (6) , samurai without leaders, against lesser incidents. I wasn't, when it was obvious that I am his most despised samurai. Why?"

"Oh," Ranma said lamely. "Well, I really don't know Nabiki."

"Liar," she accused softly. She voiced out the only reason she could think of during the times that it bothered her, "You convinced him didn't you?"

Ranma was never a good one, especially not with her. Ranma's faith in his sister's ability to find out the impossible was absolute but this was one of the incidents he wished she wasn't so damned sharp. "Nabiki, it's been five years. Why bring this up now?"

"Because it's only since your last leave that I have proof." Her eyes shone with the glassy sheen of tears threatening to pour. "How could you take my punishment for me?"

"It's not a punishment, just a consequence," Ranma reasoned out.

Nabiki found herself wishing, and not entirely for the first time, that when she was in a serious argument with her brother he wouldn't be so ... smart. "How could you have done something so STUPID?"

"I don't think--"

"That's it! You don't think at all!" Her temper was controlled, but she was still seething inside. 'Why did he have to ask to share this? Why?' "You could have gotten divorced from Kodachi, Ranma. You could have -- don't you see? With me as a ronin, the Kunos' bind over us would be null. You could have divorced her and then claimed Rose Brier. With me in the picture, back as a safeguard, Kodachi **can't be killed off**."

"Because I feel responsible for you, Nabiki! It was Kodachi's fault that you were in that mess. It was my **duty** to get you out."

"But it is mine to see you live." Nabiki sighed then turned to question something other than the obvious. After she visibly calmed down she took a deep breath and began again, "So tell me, what did you use to bribe Happosai to get me back on the clan? And don't tell me you didn't bribe the old bastard, because I'm sure he hates my guts just as much as I do his."

He finally relented when he saw there was no shaking Nabiki off, "I bought him the contract of one of the better courtesans (7) in Nerima, acquired a couple of his 'silky darlings' for him. Do you know how hard it is to get an under-kimono (8) in Nerima? And he had Ranko publicly wash the penitentiary. That's all." Ranma fidgeted under her scrutiny, he wasn't used on them being on opposite ends of an argument this serious.

"Ranko did it naked, no doubt. I still don't believe you." Nabiki brandished one of her knives from her obi. Ranma eyed it wearily. Within a blink of an eye, she turned him around and cut a circular hole in the back of his silk shirt, she suppressed a gasp. "Damn you Ranma, why do this?"

"You know you could've asked. Silk is hard to come by (9)," Ranma joked a little. Silk was reserved for the wealthier people since it was an exported product. China produced silk which they trade with the Portuguese for some Japanese products, which was the reason for the high price. Nabiki did not like it when she was reminded of losing coin. She glared at him, although he could not see her face for the glare to take effect.

She traced the kanji-scar across his back. Most of the scars there were brought about by the sword, this came from a hot poker. It was also identical to the scar on her back. "Why?"

"It was this or your son's back." And they both knew that Sei wouldn't be able to live after such a torture. "You were too upset to be burdened with my problems, and when you weren't, it was just too long to care for it anymore."

Nabiki hugged her brother, menial labor was a terrible blow to his pride, but the scar had to have been more. It was an ever-present mark to be carried to remind him of his suffering on her behalf.

She suspected as much, Happosai was a demanding leader. He was not a man satisfied with half measures and compromise. A demand that only he could make and does not apologize for, clearly signifying that he held them all. He was a man who didn't give out his favors lightly, but could be persuaded... with the right amount of persuasion.

Apparently, even though Ranma was a favorite among his daimyos, public humiliation would be worth her return. She swore that someday, Happosai was going to pay. Her brother would take that perverted fool's station in the Saotome clan.

"Don't," Ranma whispered.

"Don't what?" She let go of him turning his face to her, so she could his deep blue-gray eyes.

He smiled faintly, switching to Chinese for fear of being overheard, " _Take revenge on Happosai. Not because of this. There are other things, nobler causes. I do believe Happosai -- we have the same stand on Happosai. I don't like him either. But -- promise me you won't kill off Happosai because of this. _"

"And what makes you think --"

"Because I'm your twin," he reasoned taking her hand in his. "_The best way to get even is to forget._ "

Her hand tightened against his. "You fool, you sweet, stupid, fool."

Ranma never noticed that she never gave her word.

* * *

Ranma decided to lock himself up at the dojo with that girl named Nabiki and throw away the key. Akane could only guess what they were doing there but she could hear the whispers, the sobs which she mistook for laughter and the occasional thuds that were distinctly flesh against wood.

Even the constant honor guards the two kept were limited to the parameters. The brother and sister dismissed them to be alone. Hanae and a boy she did not recognize were playing along the koi pond. From the hostile glances of the samurai around them, speaking to them would not be advisable at the moment.

Since Ranma's arrival, the dojo was kept from her limiting her training to runs across the beach. But even she couldn't do that all day. Once she was tempted to demand entrance but she chickened out after a particularly loud blow against flesh.

Finally she decided to move towards the library and sat before one of the shelves to pick out what seemed to be a good read. Ifuku interrupted her briefly, to inform her that Ranma suggested a visit to the seamstress some time that week. She also said a stable hand, Ko-uma (10), was sent to make an appointment already.

Akane was surprised about her husband's sudden interest in her wardrobe but Ifuku supplied her with an answer, "I don't suppose you remember that the Lord Happosai has ordered all his important samurai to his fort in the Kanto Mountains?"

That came as a shock to Akane and the number, close to a hundred, surprised her even more. "It's to honor the day of birth of Lady Nodoka -- Lord Ranma's mother." Ifuku supplied.

Now she was in panic, it was one thing to have Ranko's family over, it was quite another to learn that it was a yearly affair. She surmised that Ranma's family would probably be in attendance as well since it was his mother's ball. 'More hostiles,' Akane thought distastefully, it would be her a grand challenge for her.

For two months, she had been secluded in Rose Brier, with only Ranma, Hanae and Ranko as contact with the real world. Both their family and his brood of friends were going to make her seem like an outcast.

She didn't know how to act towards anyone. Ranma's reaction to her shorts and shirt was proof that she knew next to nothing about medieval Japan.

Amnesia would be her salvation in some places, but that still meant keeping her temper, watching her dress code, leaving the good things to do to the men and biting her tongue. Those restrictions were going to be hard. She grew up in a time where she could do anything, where she was any man's equal.

She was sure she was going to shock a lot of people with her behavior if she couldn't. She could never rein her temper or her tongue. Though it was light, it was damn hard to hold.

It seemed like she was going to have to start learning.

-

Finishing up with her lunch, which was composed of some sushi and yakitori, Akane pushed the plates away. She missed some of the modern foods but she already introduced some healthy menus to the cook when she looked over the possibility of a change in diet.

Briefly, she wondered why the cook wouldn't let her come near the kitchen after she tried to cook the food, but dismissed it when she heard a commotion outside. Apparently, one of the two families arrived.

She gave her reflection in the mirror a once over before she headed towards the garden. She frowned at the dark kimono and patted a stray hair back to the edge of her ear. She practiced a smile but that quickly turned into a frown. Steeling herself, she moved slowly towards the garden.

As she moved the last shoji blocking her way, she gulped down her anxieties. 'This is not going to be easy.' She was not part of the happy family she saw in front of her.

The woman, who presumably was Ranko's mother from the uncanny resemblance they shared, was in her early forties and remarkably beautiful. Ranma, Ranko were both were slightly damp but stood in loving attendance dressed in identical clothes. The two children, Hanae and the boy, were also present and bowed formally. The woman bowed back, pleased at her grandchildren then hugged them in her arms.

Akane frowned at Ranko. She hated the fact that in feudal Japan consorts to samurai were allowed, that meant she has to share her husband. One of the things she really didn't want to share with anybody.

Now she was being disregarded in her own house by his consort and her daughter.

She wrung her outer kimono unconsciously waiting for someone to notice her. When they did, she wished they didn't. The woman cleared her throat and motioned towards her, both Ranma and Ranko turned in her direction, Ranma matching Ranko's expression when they saw her.

"Ranma?" the woman asked with one eyebrow raised. Curiously, she was looking towards the redhead of the two.

Akane fidgeted a little as all eyes turned to her. She felt her embarrassment rise and forced her reluctant feet down the garden, her face growing hotter with each step. She smiled at the three scowls set in her way.

She turned towards the kids and was about to usher them out so the grown-ups could talk, when Ranko put herself between them and her, just as she did that morning with Ranma and Hanae, just as Ranma did with Hanae when he arrived. It was a manner that was clearly protective.

"Kodachi," she said sternly meaning it as a warning.

"What is it with you guys? Kodachi was stupid -- I know but she really wouldn't have hurt the children would she?" She'd been cut from the children twice before which made her angry, upset and hurt. When she realized she talked in the third person again, she muttered a soft oath, "Damn."

At their confusion, Akane realized the problem. "Ranma didn't tell you?"

At that, Ranko rolled her eyes. "Kodachi insists that she has amnesia and quite **conveniently** has no memory of you, or her misdeeds," she said it in a way that clearly meant she did not believe a word of it.

There was a moment of silence wile those in attendance tried to understand the explanation. Nodoka was the first one to speak. "Well then Ranma." Akane noticed that Nodoka was still looking at Ranko when she said this. "Introduce me to your wife."

Both Ranko and Ranma piped up at the same time, lending some odd flavor to the meeting. With a warning glare, Ranma continued with stiff formality, "Kodachi, let me present you to Saotome Nodoka, my mother. This is Saotome Sei, Nabiki's son, and Saotome Hanae, my daughter. I'm sure you know Ranko."

Ranko held her mouth the entire time, though she looked seething mad when Ranma mentioned her. Ranma allowed a smirk in her direction leaving Akane to wonder what by-play was happening. "Saotome... so Nabiki is part of the family?"

"Oh? Didn't you know?" Ranma drawled, the cocky smile never leaving his face. "Nabiki is my twin sister."

Ifuku's words came back to her, 'She runs the household as our lord likes it. **I** don't run the household because his sister does. What kind of -- ' Akane's only encounter with Nabiki was that one time when she first stepped out of her room. The house was uncanny that way, there were always samurai, but she did not see them. There were servants, the household chores were completed the beddings cleaned but she never heard them. It was as if the entire household help melted into the shadows, including Nabiki.

Another peculiarity that struck her was Sei using his mother's maiden name. Sei was a boy and was potentially an heir, so valuable under his father's name. She would never understand how this society worked, so she decided not to think about it.

"I – ah -- didn't know." She turned to go but stopped when another thing dawned on her. "Saotome... Nodoka, you're Ranma's mother?"

Nodoka frowned at the impoliteness of the girl. "Yes? Why?"

"I thought you were **Ranko's** mother. You look so much like her." The uncanny resemblance didn't just stop at the curly red hair. Ranko has her mother's eyes, if not her demeanor. She has the same shape, if not the height and their face held the same planes.

"I am Ranma's mother and I am Ranko's mother. Have these two not explained the matter of Jus--"

Ranma cut his own mother off by explaining, "It's just that Ranko's been consort to me since I married you and mother thinks of her as her own daughter. The resemblance is due to the fact that --" There was a pause in his statement before Ranma continued, "-- Master Happosai is known for his 'indiscretions' and Ranko's one of them. He ordered me to take her so she'd be under my wing (11)."

She looked at the two of them disgust showing in her face. "So you're related?"

"Very, very far apart," Ranko said slowly an accusing glare at Ranma.

There was a pregnant pause.

Akane then forced a smile. "I'm going to inform Nabiki of your arrival. Shall we have dinner at -- seven (12)?"

All of them looked too puzzled at her statement before she cursed. She forgot that time was told differently. She wondered when Japan was going to get a modern day clock instead of calling out names of animals every so often and basing hours by the burning of incense.

Ranma was the first person who understood her statement and replied quickly, "We're going out for dinner."

That stunned Akane. It not only implied that **she** wasn't coming, which she could take, but also said that **Ranko,** who was Ranma's **consort**, was coming along. She mentally seethed, her fingers fisted in anger, and had she been holding a pencil, she was sure it would have broken into two.

She didn't do anything about it. She couldn't do anything about it. 'I couldn't bash Ranma's head for taking Ranko who was all chummy to his mother, right? Right... but damned it all, I'm not going to like the redhead hussy.'

"And you don't have to look out for Nabiki. She uses the queerest doors," Ranma added as an afterthought. Something Akane barely heard as she tried to calm herself.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," she said with forced cheerfulness that even to her, didn't sound natural. She turned her back at them and tried to climb the stairs. By the time she reached the last step, she was crying.

-

Ranma-chan watched the back of her wife as she went and turned to his family. "Why do I suddenly feel bad about that?"

Nabiki-kun looked at him incredulously with a hint of exasperation. "Don't tell me you're actually sorry for her, Ranma. She deserves even worse than that."

"Besides you know she won't be admitted anywhere, amnesia or not." Nodoka put in, trying to comfort her son --currently daughter.

Ranma turned to Nabiki frowning. "Nabiki, do you realize that you just weaved a very complicated lie that doesn't even seem plausible?

Massaging her temple Nabiki shrugged. She took hold of Sei's hand before replying, "It was the best I could do at the time. Ranko is related to Happosai. Mom is married to Saotome name by birth therefore isn't related to Happosai. Ergo, they shouldn't look alike. She didn't think about it, you shouldn't dwell on it."

"This reminds me," Nodoka said as she looked at the twins. "Will you please tell me what is **really** going on here?"

* * *

Nodoka watched her daughter stare out to the bay, watching the calm of the night and the stillness of the house. Before, that was a sure sign that Kodachi was not home. The silence today stemmed from a different cause. Very different.

Earlier that night, Nodoka noticed a trace of worry on Ranma's face. It was not readily apparent but showed enough for both women to pick it up. On the way home Nabiki heard him mutter that he hoped Kodachi already went to their Nerima residence.

Kodachi was home, opened their doors and smiled for them. She even asked them about how the evening went. Not your typical Kodachi behavior and Nabiki was starting to doubt Kodachi's actions. Whereas before Nabiki was always one step ahead of her sister-in-law, now she was second-guessing her, and that probably scared her more than anything else.

"Nabiki, aren't you going to sleep?" Nodoka asked as she joined her daughter on the roof, using the shingles to steady herself. Her old bones were not up to the task of taking care of her children.

"I can't sleep." Nabiki grumbled in the dark, swinging her feet in time with the waves. She already checked Sei five times and her mother was sensing another trip coming on.

"What is it?" she asked, concerned. It was the first restless night Nabiki had since she was three, and Nabiki usually didn't step out of character.

There was a long pause before Nabiki answered, "It's Kodachi. I don't trust her."

"What else is new? Have you thought about her actions, then?" Nodoka looked out to the bay.

"Not much," Nabiki answered distractedly, averting her eyes from the questioning look her mother was giving her.

"Are you going to tell me or are you going to let me keep guessing?" she asked patiently, sitting closer to her daughter. She was robbed of the chance to see them grow up. All mothers were robbed of the chance to see their children grow up. Their duty was to their husbands, the children were for the foster mothers. In their case they were granted a foster father.

"She's actually trying to win the children over, and she has never done that! She tried to be **polite**, and when have you ever seen Kodachi being polite? This amnesia thing, it's new, it's unpredictable and its unpredictability is its greatest danger -- and we don't even know if she really **has** amnesia. She's being spontaneous! I've never seen her spontaneous! She has this twisted mind that manipulates everything she says! She's actually dropped her laugh--"

"Haven't thought about it, huh?" Nodoka joked a little interrupting her line of thoughts. "Nabiki, you think too much. You might think Kodachi's this little puzzle you have to decipher but she won't go away for the night."

"No, we're not that lucky," Nabiki muttered, closing her eyes to feel the soft breeze against her face. It was something she'd once heard Ranma say. "Let's just hope that we learned something from seven years ago."

-

Akane paced around her room in edgy impatience. She was hurt that she was not invited to dinner but she could take that. She was also hurt as Ranko's nature in the house was revealed to her but was satisfied that Ranma and Ranko kept their -- nightly intimacies quiet. 'At least the pervert isn't forcing himself on me.' She thought indignantly.

She understood that they would not comprehend easily, but it was hard. She needed patience, and that was never one of her best assets. She could only ask how many questions before she became too overwhelmed by it. How long until everyone treated her with respect? How long until the people realized that she was not Kodachi? How long until they knew that she was trying so very hard to be a part of everyone?

But it was no use to ask questions that no one really has answers to. She looked around the room worriedly, but nothing in the room gave her comfort. In fact, it added to her sense of dread. Everywhere she looked has Kodachi's distinct brand on it, Kodachi's perfume was pungently strong in the room and her face -- the face that stared back at her that told her about the wrongness of everything.

Every turn she faced the mocking picture of either Kodachi's mirror, or the portrait of eyes staring at her. They looked at her with accusing mockery. When she could take it no longer, she pulled a black shawl from the drawer and threw it over the portrait and across the full-length mirror.

"Oh, Akane, how long until you go insane, huh?" she asked herself, rubbing her shoulders. Another question ... this time, she didn't want an answer. She left the unsettling room to roam around the house just before dawn. She usually trained around this time, but since Ranma's family was present, she was confined to her own room. She muttered a curse under her breath as she went out to drink some tea trying to tread lightly across the tatami.

When she reached the kitchen she saw Sei was already up and moving about. She was surprised to see him up early. He was hovering over a kettle. Akane frowned, 'What is with these people and hot water anyway? They don't use it for tea, or I would have seen them take cups.'

By the sound of her steps, Sei's head shot to her. This surprised her, she was sure that she didn't create any sound, yet the child sensed her.

"Ohayou, Oba -- Aunt Kodachi," the boy greeted tentatively. "Sumimasen, I did not mean to wake you."

At this Akane's automatic reply was the vigorous waving of hands in front of her, negating the thought, "Oh, no, no Sei. I'm always up this early," she assured him then looked at him before clapping her hands happily. "Nabiki has taught you some martial arts?"

"That's father's work. Okaasan wants some of the family's knowledge passed down to me," he trailed off after a while.

For a second Akane dwelled on whom exactly Sei's father was, it seemed like Nabiki's husband wasn't around too much for her to see. She concluded that maybe he was just like his wife in that he took to the shadows. "How far are you into your lessons?" Akane asked as she sat down bringing a mug, cocoa and sugar with her. Sei seemed to be boiling a lot of water. She hoped he wouldn't mind if he shared it with her.

"Okaasan says I learn almost as quickly as father at his age," Sei answered, he almost seemed proud, yet it was well hidden. She sensed a few more years to that child and that proud shine in his eyes would disappear in a thick emotionless face. Saotomes seemed eager to hide their emotions. Too eager.

"You're a morning person too, Sei, aren't you, would you like to watch the sunrise with me?" she asked, the house seemed much too lonely for her tastes, and though sunrises were good to watch alone, it is always better when you have a memory shared with someone in return.

The child hesitated a moment then looked at her straight in the eyes. They stood there for a moment each looking at each other, questions left unsaid and unanswered. The whistling of the kettle drew him out of it. "My father needs the water."

The boy already held strong loyalties for one so young. And his loyalties were tugging him to his family rather than to an aunt he hardly knew. She wondered, again, how long it would be before he would watch the sunrise with her willingly. She smiled faintly then looked up at the rustle of noise behind her.

"Good Morning, Nabiki," she greeted her sister-in-law, smile wavering in her face. She didn't know how it looked now. "Sei and I were just talking."

The boy nodded at his mother in confirmation taking the kettle off the brazier. Akane just sat there, realizing now just how deep her sister-in-law's hatred was for her.

"Sei, the hot water is needed, quickly now," Nabiki said ignoring Akane, patting her son's brown hair. How she could look so kind to her son and so fierce to her was such a big mystery. The boy nodded in acquiescence and ran through the garden towards the house, hot water in tow. "Careful, Sei, that water can burn!"

After her son's footsteps disappeared through the main house her gaze turned to Akane. She almost wished something else would draw Nabiki's fierce look. "I know what you're doing Kodachi. I'm warning you, stay away from my son."

"He shouldn't fear you Nabiki," Akane offered quietly. "That isn't any way to raise a child."

"When have you known anything about raising children? Have you ever even tried to raise Hanae?" Nabiki shot back, her gaze was just as scorching as before. "You don't associate with my son, you don't talk to him, and now that you have decided to do so I am forbidding it."

Similar words, Akane's ire rose. "What gives you the right to forbid me -- to actually forbid me to do anything with whom I please?"

"When the subject of talk is my son!" Nabiki's voice never rose but the emphatic way she commanded it expressed just how furious the woman was.

It made Akane livid at how Nabiki could argue with so few words and still make her feel inferior. "He is my nephew."

"You lost the right to call him that after you cost me my first child," Nabiki answered as she turned her back to Akane. "You will never refer to him that way again."

* * *

"Thank you, Sei," Ranma-chan said gratefully as she poured the water over herself while the child watched in fascination. "I could've gone down there myself you know."

"Aunty Nabiki is right, if Kodachi tells everyone your girl-form is your -- " Hanae chose her words carefully, "-- consort, then you shouldn't show everybody 'Ranko' in your clothes."

Nodoka made a negating sound. "You could have stopped any inquiry by showing everybody the curse. It would make fewer complications that way."

"I don't go telling any person about my weird curse you know," Ranma defended himself crossing his arms in front of his chest, and succeeding in looking very much like a spoiled brat. "Besides, what the **Lord Happosai** orders, we must obey. He has ordered that the curse would only be known to the 'strict confidences of only the most trusted of all people'." The fact that Kodachi found out makes him simmer in rage already. The only reason he hasn't taken it out on them was that it was through Happosai's own mistake that Kodachi discovered the curse.

That was the scene Nabiki saw when she opened the shoji towards the room they were all gathered in. "Oh GOD! That woman infuriates me!"

"Calm down Nabiki, don't give her the satisfaction of seeing you like this," Nodoka said in a soothing voice. Everyone knew that her son's wife left a lot to be desired. "Sei, Hanae, go about your morning training so you can take a bath before breakfast."

With the dismissal from their grandmother, the children scurried out of the library. "And do remember to use a door this time!" Nodoka called out worriedly, she still did not approve of the manner they went about hopping from place to place. Training or no, it made her worry a lot more than she should.

When the children disappeared, Nabiki settled on the silk cushion Ranma led her to. "Let's talk of pleasanter things." He smiled as he looked at her. "How are the preparations coming through?"

Having her attention diverted from the topic of Kodachi, Nabiki eased her back. She almost sighed, and wished fervently that even though Kodachi was there, everything would go on well enough.

She would be let down... hard.

* * *

**Endnotes: **

(1) **Sewa**: means to help or charge

(2) **Kintaro**: 'Golden Wax Rice Field' (wonder what kind of rice this produces, doesn't sound like a samurai name... but... live with it.

kin -- gold or money  
ta -- rice field  
ro -- fireplace  
wax

(3) Before the **prisons **were instigated, men were often killed when they were found at fault, no questions asked. The prisons, which came in the late 1500s were a temporary resting place before you got killed off. Getting killed after all is the only punishment. It's very rare that people ever come out of those cells.

(4) **Ikkasei**: 'Family Reason' (what I used although it could sound like 'Below Reason'... how much does one letter change the sound of this anyway... a byplay of words if you wish... :)

Ika -- less than, under, below  
Ikka -- (A) Family  
-sei -- results, influence, reason

(5) I'm not entirely sure if they **really** branded them back then... but it's for the story... what? You don't believe me?

(6) What are **ronin**? Samurai without a leader. I won't delve into the topic. Most of the people know what ronin are. An important fact though are that women samurai become ronin when their husband turns them out. That or shave their hair and become nuns. Or seppuku. Talk about hard choices.

(7) **Buying the contract of a courtesan**, means you own that courtesan. Renting a contract usually is a night... buying a courtesan would probably cost around a thousand koku depending on the level. Kyoto First Class courtesans are the best. The wives are the ones who negotiate for the contract for their husbands. Weird, huh?

(8) Of course there still aren't any bras in Japan at 1600s, I had to improvise! I'm not certain what an under-kimono is actually... but it's under the category of underwear. Happosai has to settle for that until he reaches the 20th century.

(9) **Silk **is reserved for the more wealthy of the people :), China produces silk which they trade with the Portuguese for some Japanese products... they didn't trade directly because they can't understand each other and needed the priests as translators (who traded the products with outrageous prices). Japanese students sometimes were sent to China to learn there... why they never picked up the language I would never know.

(10) Ko-uma: pony. (He's the stable boy okay! Problem is there are currently **no** horses)

(11) Is this legal? Well yes... anything your liege lord says is legal to you... of course if it isn't legal to somebody else... you may get your head cut off... trick here is not to let that particular someone else find out.

(12) Measure of time -- well it is measured by: um I'll copy the exact paragraph from Shogun:

The day and the night are each split into six equal parts, the day began with the hour of the Hare ( 5 am-7am) Dragon ( 7am-9am), snake, horse, goat, monkey, cock, dog, boar, rat and ox. The cycle ended with the hour of the tiger ( 3am-5am)

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Ranma 1/2 and the book I based it from is When there is Hope, and if you sue me you can't possibly get money from me.

* * *

**Special Thanks to**: MJ Maurice Phillip Tony Loco Dream and Angel Jourdan Bickham Jose AragaoByooki Desu Ano Nimus C. Jones Richard Robinson David Bateson David Stanley Jitou King Chan Lawrence Chu Bert Miller The Dragonbard Darthcwader1 Erin Outlawone1 David Calvarese Larry F

* * *

**Author's notes:**

I must admit Kodachi is turning out to be more evil than I expected her to be :)

Also, I don't know if you've noticed but my fave girl character in the Ranmaverse is Nabiki Tendo... who's going around nicely in her role :)

Yes... I said I liked her, I didn't mean for her to be Ranma's wife. :) I hope I've done her justice... :) Even if I cursed her, separated her from her husband, banished her... etc. etc. Still there are reasons for this... which I think I explained earlier. :)

This is where the deviation from the book I based this from starts. Although some scenes are the same, Nabiki's story is definitely different.

iCe

* * *

**website: **ice _dot _esmartdesign _dot _com  
**email**: siuane _at_ gmail _dot_ com  
**livejournal**: ice _underscore_ of _underscore _dreams

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We sometimes tend to forget that criticsm is better than praise, when we criticize we say that the other person has the ability to accept our words and take it as a challenge to become better because of this.  
my teacher (hehehe)

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I write when the spirit moves, and I make sure it moves every day.  
unknown


	7. Part 6 : May

**Revision**:  
06/29/06 : minor grammar revision, added description of kimono to Akane's dress.

* * *

After the ball is over, after the break of morn  
After the dancers leaving, after the stars are gone;  
Many a heart is aching, if you could read them all;  
Many hopes have banished, after the ball;  
**Charles K. Harris **

**

* * *

**

**Rendezvous with Fate V.3  
**by iCe  
Chapter 6

_... That first celebration was a disaster, **everything** went wrong ..._

* * *

The month that passed since Nodoka's arrival felt longer than it really was for Akane. After her mother-in-law's appearance, they were furnished with a palanquin and headed towards the Kanto Mountains. One of the samurai scouted ahead to prepare the inns where they would be sleeping in for the night. When they arrived, they were herded towards the donjon too quickly for Akane to notice the details of the old Japanese castle. 

Her husband didn't see her for three days. She was left under constant samurai guard, and frankly, she felt insulted. She would have fought her way out if the swords they carried didn't look too much of a threat.

On the morning of her fourth day, Akane's routine, which barely consisted of anything other than the rudimentary functions of her body, was interrupted by Ifuku. Her maid came in not only with her food but with the kimono that was newly sewn for her. Then the maid expertly set about doing her work with Akane's dress and hair.

A few hours later, Akane stared back at the mirror. Hard. She blinked at the image that blinked back at her. She had never dressed so elaborately before. In her previous life, her hair was too short to be pulled up and piled on top of her head, Shimoda style (1), some of which artfully fell over her face.

The dress which Yofuku-san(2), Kodachi's seamstress, furbished was beautifully made with intricate designs. More importantly, the dress fit her, unlike the others she currently owned. Yofuku-san also promised that she would alter the length in the fabric so that it would fit her body shape better, after seeing the haphazard tucks and sewing that Akane had made with hers. It was a good thing that essentially all kimonos were made in one size.

The cloth was cut of silk, an expensive and formal fabric. Ranma's seal or mon was stenciled on to it in the five places designated for the ruling class and lent the kimono formality. His crest were three stacked triangles forming a pyramid. It approximated Happosai's own crest, which was a plant with three triangular leaves. The dragon, which she learned was the twin's personal symbol was sinuously entwined around the kimono, meticulously painted in.

The color, though subdued, proved a nice contrast to her dark wavy hair. She looked down at her waist and placed her hand on it. She earned it through sweating through training. Now all she had to deal with are the ties on her knees that Ifuku insist she wear with the kimono

"You look beautiful, my lady," Ifuku complemented her. Akane was not sure if she meant it or if the girl was just saying it to please her. She never could read people very well. Ifuku then proceeded to hand her the numerous things that were supposed to go inside the kimono's sleeves, it was a relief that the maid didn't insist on binding her knees like the last time.

"Thank you, Ifuku. Although I would rather have been given more attention by my husband than be locked up like this." She twisted a little in her seat, wondering about Ranko. Jealousy was a very wicked thing, although Akane never thought about it that way. She never truly delved into her feelings for Ranma. "Tell me Ifuku, did you happen to see Ranko-san?"

The woman looked startled since she was one of the few who knew about Ranma's curse. He told her not to speak of it, so she hadn't. She was loyal to her lord.

Most people's speculations were so far off the mark that the maid sometimes wished that she could tell the truth, but she was ordered to secrecy. She didn't find any hindrance to the order. If she did tell someone about it, which was already highly unlikely, no one would believe her words. It was certainly something that bended the laws of reality. It was rare that her mistress wanted to talk about "Ranko". It was highly unusual that she brought it up now. "Yes, my lady."

"Do you think my husband would dance(3)with her instead of me?" she whispered softly, not noticing she clutched the soft fabric of her dress. She looked conscious of the way she spoke and Ifuku thought that since the accident her lady has been trying to act normal so much.

Ifuku pitied her to an extent. She was scared witless, either from her first meeting with the society, the prospect of meeting Ranma's relatives, or some unpredictable calamity. If it was truly loss of memory which ailed her, she could not possibly ready her for what was ahead, to meet her husband's ex-fiancées. And even though she felt pity towards her mistress, she could only remain silent, for she held a greater loyalty to Ranma. "Lord Ranma would not dance with Ranko-sama, lady. I'm very sure of it."

Ifuku almost saw the wave of comfort that passed through her, but it lasted only for a moment. When she pinned the last pearl and announced that she was ready, Kodachi jumped out of the chair and turned slowly in front of the full-length mirror. She smiled, pleased at what she saw, then turned to Ifuku and hugged her warmly. "I couldn't have done this whole get up without you, thank you."

Almost against her will, Ifuku smiled. She was starting to like her mistress. Akane seemed to be trying so hard to fit in a world that did its best to shun her. "Lady Akane, your husband is waiting for you," she reminded Akane, and hoped fervently that her mistress would not be distressed too much.

* * *

The well worn path that led to the donjon in the Kanto plains was filled with kaga and people walking, which signified the enormousness of the event that was about to take place. 

There was a particular palanquin that was rather unusual compared to the rest, notable for the Chinese silks and embroidery it used for curtains. Inside this palanquin sat two women facing each other.

Kuh Lon, the gnarled old woman, and elder of the Amazon tribe, was staring at the young woman who sat dejectedly in front of her.

"_Great-grandmamma, do you think Ranma will be glad to see me?_" Xian Pu asked Kuh Lon in her native tongue, her aggravation grew as they neared Happosai's donjon. She has not seen him for seven years. His marriage has been hard on her. Too Hard.

"_He would not faithfully send out invitations every year for you to come, if it was not so,_" Kuh Lon answered looking at her straight in the eyes patting her clenched hands. The movement soothed the younger girl. "_Do not worry overly, child. He is not a vengeful sort. I think he understood what you did and why you did it._"

"_There is only so much rejection one can take,_" she whispered staring out the kaga towards the setting sun. Kuh Lon looked at her great-granddaughter shifting her gnarled hand on the child's shoulder. She has yet to understand fully why Xian Pu wanted to set out and visit Ranma after such a long time. Kuh Lon fully thought Mu Tsu captured her attentions. She did not like it now that her theory was proven wrong.

She resolved to talk to her great-granddaughter when they returned to the village. 'Maybe it's time to set her to a more rigorous training routine.' Hopefully her duties will keep her occupied enough to stop thinking of Ranma.

But Ranma was a man that was too hard to forget. To a girl like as Shampoo, who by Amazon law was actually betrothed to him and who clearly loved him, it was hard reality to accept that he chose someone other than her. His choice came to haunt Cologne.

The fool Happosai forbade, **forbade**, Ranma to tell her the reasons for choosing Kodachi, which made her conclude that it was more of Happosai's meddling than Ranma's actual affection for the girl. Back then it seemed that at twenty-two Ranma would be a bachelor forever.

Kuh Lon and Xian Pu's departure was more than abrupt, with only a note for good-bye and a meeting with Nabiki. Because it was nearly seven years since they left the islands, their return would take the twins by surprise.

She would see what happened to her most prized students.

* * *

Ukyo bit her lip as she spread her skirts about her. She planned her departure so that she would leave and arrive early in order to attend the gathering for Lady Nodoka. 

Although she accused Ranma of torturing himself, she was a hypocrite. She did so as well. Though he went to visit her because of her daughter, she visited him because of her own selfish reasons. Because his marriage did not stop her from loving him, because she would always love him.

Even though he continually told her to find herself a husband, even though he has a daughter whose mother she never knew about, even though he married a harridan, she would always love him. A tear escaped her eye as she looked past the trees and she quickly wiped it away. It was no good if he saw her in tears, he would only offer comfort she did not want. Pain was what she chose to live with so long ago. It reminded her that she lived only because she could give comfort to him.

She sighed as she moved about the donjon's many gates, two samurai flanking her. As she looked at the gay trimmings of the donjon, she wondered about their last conversation with each other. Maybe it was truly the time to see if she could still be his daughter's foster mother.

She accepted the role because of their friendship. Maybe now that she knew that he could never love her and that she would always love him it was time to set a little distance between the two of them.

'Tonight...' Ukyo thought, 'Tonight, I decide.'

* * *

Akane went down the stairs, searching the crowd for a friendly face and finding none. When that failed her, she tried a familiar one. However, with the short time she spent in Rose Brier and the very few visitors that came in the house, it was unlikely that she could find any. All gave her pointed looks of hatred. It was obvious with their whispering and the quick snap of fans to hide their mouths. It was going to be the longest and hardest night she had to live by yet. 

She schooled her face into a smile and tried to walk gracefully down the stairs. Unfortunately, grace was not one of her better attributes. She didn't know if it was good or bad luck that chanced her when she saw Ranma walking towards her. He was certainly not the familiar face one would be looking for in the sea of people that was presented to her.

She almost made it to the bottom of the stairs, when she tripped on her dress. She was certainly not used to wearing the geta (4) nor the kimono, except for the rare festivals that she used them and certainly not with the leg bindings and full set of apparel she had on now. She plummeted straight down to Ranma who gracefully caught her. 'It isn't fair.' She thought stubbornly, 'Why would my husband be more graceful than I am?'

He did save her from an embarrassing tumble, she smiled when she looked up to thank him, but he cast an angry look, her smile faltered. "Ranma, what's wrong?"

Ranma, fully expecting she was drunk, was taken aback when he smelled no alcohol from her breath. "Nothing," he answered as he looked back to the doorway where Nabiki stood. "I just wanted to tell you that you're on your own here, Kodachi. You're not liked and certainly not welcomed." He left her alone at the stairs, left to her own resources.

She stared at his retreating back until Nabiki pulled him aside to talk, people were a lot freer with their tongues, and she heard a question of her presence. For all that, she wanted to shout that she was invited there. That she had more right to be here than they, but it was clear that she was the outsider.

-

Nabiki led her brother to the nearest empty room. She looked at him sternly, tapping her fan against her shoulder. "You invited Shampoo along? And Ukyo is here with Kodachi? Do you truly seek trouble?"

"I've always invited Shampoo, Ukyo always comes and Kodachi's just here because Happosai demanded our presence. Since every old fiancée of mine was invited, she took it as an invitation. Now she refuses to leave," Ranma answered flippantly. "Besides, Shampoo has always turned down the invitation."

"Surprise, she's here," Nabiki said dryly her hand seeking the sake the maid gave her. "I'm going to need this." She drank it down in one gulp not bothering to ask Ranma if he wanted any. "That's all three of your most enthusiastic former fiancées Ranma. Do you remember what happened the **last** time they were all in one room together? Do I actually need to tell you **all** your former fiancées are here? Is the hand of god moving against me?"

"All **your** former fiancés are here too, Nabiki," Ranma reminded her lightly.

"Yes, but mine are all very easy to handle," Nabiki pointed out ruefully, rubbing her shoulders lightly. "Yours always give me a migraine."

His brow furrowed as he remembered the details but waved Nabiki's concern off. "They'll be more behaved this time Nabiki. I'm married remember?" he reminded her softly as her hand threatened to snatch down another wine bottle.

"**That's** what I'm worried about!" Nabiki complained. There was a small rise in her voice and the annoyed look that Ranma knew were signs of her fast approaching limit. "Your so-called-wife is here, you know!"

Someone politely knocked on the door and Sasuke stepped in shortly afterwards to give them the reports on whereabouts of certain people of interest. "The children are asleep, Lord Ranma, Lady Nabiki. The honored Cologne is on the ballroom, Miss Shampoo is out somewhere in the house, she has slipped me and Miss Ukyo has been looking for the Lord Ranma," he delivered all of this while bowing and in a very precise manner.

Ranma looked at Sasuke in surprise then at Nabiki. "You made him keep track of everybody?" He looked incredulous.

Nabiki didn't take any offense. "Not quite. Sasuke is extremely loyal to the Kuno house." Nabiki smiled, Ranma knew that she secretly respected people who didn't obey her, for some uncanny reason. But for them to earn her respect, they had to have the right reasons to do so. "It seems he won't be bribed."

"Few of the servants can be," Ranma reminded her when Sasuke disappeared to do his duties after the dismissive wave of Nabiki's hand. "That's how you want them to be."

If Nabiki was negating the statement or agreeing to it, Ranma didn't know. She just looked at the empty porcelain cup in her hand, thinking about the problem at hand. "Shampoo is out somewhere. I'm going out to look for her. **You** keep track of your lovely wife and try to invent something feasible when one of Shampoo's doors pop up this time."

After she finished giving orders she hurried out of the room in search for the woman. Nabiki had always been bossy. She wanted a firm grasp on things and wanted to control everything. He didn't know if she was scared of the imbalance the women brought with them, or was just plainly worried about their mother's birthday. This event was turning into an uncontrollable situation, and they were just beginning.

* * *

Ukyo looked about at the walls. How long has it been since she walked these halls? She couldn't recall. Even though she was welcome inside and was welcomed warmly, she had never wandered past the banquet, had never shown any interest in the passageways that boasted of its grandeur. This was Happosai's domain, and the perverted freak asked her to be his consort once. She shuddered at the memory. The old man would ask any woman out. She was surprised he didn't keep a harem. 

For the first time, she was able to see the rooms and wander around a little. The samurai were a little lax on their duties inside the donjon, making the outer walls of the sanctum the main priority of their watchful eyes. This gave her leeway to sightsee. When she was finally able to navigate her way around the confusing structures, she was able to arrive at one of the guest room where Hanae slept soundly on the futon.

She somewhat regretted that she was only a part-time foster mother to the child, for she loved her dearly. It seemed everything in the girl's life was transitory. The impermanence of life was so impressed on Hanae that it was a complete mystery to how the child remained unchanged.

And yet... the child loved Rose Brier, more than Ukyo's residence. Even if Hanae's presence at Ukyo's was not as easily removed than it was in Rose Brier because of Kodachi.

She almost laughed at herself. Here she was wishing that she was more than a foster mother to Hanae when she was contemplating on leaving the child forever. She was a walking contradiction. Her brain dictated something and her heart entirely another.

'Maybe I've listened to my heart far too long.' Ukyo thought as she brushed back Hanae's unruly red hair. In her heart, the girl lying before her would always be hers. However, she knew that she must end the charade. No matter how much she wanted to be a part of the Saotomes' life, she would always be on the outside looking in. She bit her lip as she watched the shadows cast by the lamps play across the young girl's face, she looked so peaceful.

Ukyo knew what she must do, and even as she felt as if she was ripping a part out of her heart. She knew it was the right choice. Leaving the girl's side, she slid into the darkness leaving Hanae forever.

In that moment, Ukyo felt empty, amidst the happy songs trailing from the ballroom, the halls felt very much alone. Their merriment only reminded of her own solitude.

It was fateful then, that she stumbled upon Shampoo inside the garden of black roses. Happosai promised Kodachi they would keep the garden for her pleasure. One of the promises along a string of promises that kept Kodachi happily married to Ranma.

Her eyes glittered with anger, how long was it since she has heard from the Shampoo? Her mind flew back to their last meeting, long enough... but still not that too long that she would forget.

Her former rival was staring at the roses when she entered the room. She never looked up from them, nor did she move though Ukyo was sure that the Chinese woman sensed she was standing there. Shampoo took a black rose from the bush and brought it up to her eyes.

"Is beautiful, ne?" she asked softly. Her Japanese was still bad, although it was better than seven years ago and certainly would've been perfect if she exerted more effort trying to learn it. "So beautiful, forget thorns -- there."

A trickle of blood ran down her delicate hand. She didn't bother to wipe it away, dark crimson meeting the pitch black of the rose. It created such an intricate picture that Shampoo was fascinated with it for a while then her eyes turned to Ukyo seeking the other person for something familiar. "When last time we see thorns in roses, Ukyo?"

Ukyo didn't know what to answer, she didn't know what the Amazon meant by that. She didn't know if Shampoo meant Kodachi, Ranma, or something else all together, but she felt obliged to talk to the girl. "Kodachi will not appreciate you in here."

Shampoo let out a small laugh, a laugh choked out by a sob. "When has spatula girl started to consider rose woman's thoughts?" A glimmer of laughter passed her eyes for a moment. "You and Shampoo can beat crazy woman."

"It's different now, Shampoo," Ukyo murmured looking at Shampoo's hand, a web of blood already spread through it. She he couldn't look up to Shampoo's eyes. "She's married to Ranma now."

"Yes..." Shampoo trailed off. Ukyo knew it was not comfortable to talk with Shampoo, but she was thankful it was Kodachi whom she found and not Kodachi. There were small miracles. "Shampoo would have been happier if ai -- Ranma married spatula girl. Rose girl no good for him."

Airen -- Ukyo pondered on Shampoo's slip. Shampoo had been about to call Ranma airen. After all this time, she still thought of him as her beloved husband. Not so much different as she did. Her heart reached out to Shampoo. They both experienced the same pain, and they both longed for something they could never have. Yearning -- they say it is more purifying than loving. The seven years was hard on the both of them.

The rustle of her skirts was the only warning that Nabiki walked in on them. She smiled congenially. Ukyo was reminded of a fox finding her prey. "Shampoo, Ukyo, what a pleasant surprise. What are you two doing in this desolate garden of Kodachi's?"

Both knew Nabiki didn't stumble into them, but looked for them, no doubt not trusting them on their own. She was about to give Nabiki a piece of her mind when Shampoo beat her to it, "Is sorry, Nabiki, looking at roses."

"Kodachi does have a natural knack for making her flowers bloom beautifully, doesn't she?" she asked as she took note of the bloody rose on Shampoo's hand. Nabiki rarely missed the details. It was one of the things the twins were forced to learn when they acquired Nerima.

"Sorry Nabiki, just looking around," Ukyo answered nonchalantly, turning to leave the conservatory with Shampoo following quietly. Before they could move into the hallway, Shampoo turned back suddenly to talk to Nabiki.

"Nabiki, question," Shampoo said solemnly as she stood in front of Ranma's formidable sister. "Do you complain why there are roses on thorns or are you thankful that there are roses among thorns?"

There was a long pause before Nabiki could answer, "Often, they're just the same thing." She looked at Shampoo then frowned wondering how she could have missed the changes in the Amazon when they were so distinct. "You're different than the Amazon I last saw seven years ago."

"Shampoo forced to change," she answered as she turned around. The silence that followed ringing in her ears just as loudly as any gong could've produced. It was then Nabiki knew there would be no catfights starting from these two, their sad faces told her too much.

* * *

Although Ranma was not looking for Kodachi, he found her anyway. She seemed the most out of place person in the whole celebration. His eyes were drawn to her unwillingly. Her tread brought forth raised gloves, spread fans, whispers. He should have been happy, after all this was the wife who betrayed him.

But he wasn't.

He was sorry for her, which wasn't what any normal human being should feel towards Saotome Kodachi. He was disgusted because of his attitude and when she sat down over at one of the solitary chairs, he almost went to her to comfort her. The only thing that prevented him from truly going was the fear that she would laugh at him falling for something like that. He didn't think his pride could take it. 'The things we destroy with pride, the things we could heal without it.'

After all that was said and done, he didn't love his wife. Though he tolerated her because he must, he still didn't want her hurt. He was an idiot.

He watched as Hikaru Gosunkugi, a rake who has the reputation of sleeping with other men's wives including his own, walked up to her. And she smiled.

"I'm an idiot," Ranma muttered under his breath.

Nabiki, who came up from behind him, raised an eyebrow then gave a mocking frown. "Did you just call me an idiot?"

"What?" He pulled his gaze away from the two and turned to Nabiki. "No, I'm an idiot."

Looking over his shoulder, Nabiki's smile dimmed. She recognized the man Kodachi was associating with far too much. "It's Gosunkugi. You know, I never did figure how that wimp turned out that way."

A look of pain crossed Ranma's eyes. Nabiki was sorry she brought it up and decided not to follow it through. A memory trickled in the back of her mind but she could not call it forth.

"It was my fault." Ranma sighed as he looked down. "I think Kodachi concocted a potion, he got it before me. Instant mad raving lunatic."

Placing a hand on her brother's shoulder, Nabiki tried to comfort him. There were far too much incidents like this one. "You can't blame yourself for something like that. With things concerning Kodachi, no one is really to blame. Sometimes, not even her."

Nabiki walked her brother a bit farther from where Kodachi was. They didn't turn to look back.

-

Akane looked up at the first face that came to talk to her. He looked - tired. That was the only word that came up to mind when she saw him. He was a scrawny looking man with big eye bags leading her to wonder if he got enough sleep and nutrition. She didn't know what to say, she did not know anything at all.

"You look edible, my dear Kodachi," he said flourishing a rose he held in the back of his hand. It looked suspiciously like the roses grown in the backyard she spied moments before. For one thing it was black, and she was sure that that breed was rather uncommon. And secondly, the flower was broken off from the stem and not cut.

"Do I?" She didn't want to be rude, after all this was the first person that spoke to her. She couldn't just turn him away, even though she found herself immediately disliking the man.

"I thought you'd be in Nerima by now." He looked over the crowd, a bored gaze swept over him, making Akane wonder if her bored tone just managed to encourage him. "You did say you would stay for Rose Brier only for a short time."

"Why does everyone want me in Nerima?" Akane answered with a tinge of humor in her voice.

"I don't know about everyone, but I am glad that you're here," he said giving her another appreciative gaze. It didn't help to calm Akane's nerves. "Though this would be the last place I thought I'd find you. Your in-laws are one tough crowd."

An image of Nabiki superimposed with the older one of Nodoka's brought a shiver down her spine. They were hard to live with

"We could make our own fun, what do you say?"

Akane let out a grimace, suddenly understanding that he wasn't just friendly because he was taken by her personality. She knew that he wasn't going away with subtle hints of boredom. "Look, you obviously haven't heard, but I have a serious knock on the head and am currently suffering from amnesia. I currently have no memory of you."

"What? Amnesia?" He looked momentarily confused then he smiled at her. He caught on to her game then, or so he -- just like everybody else -- thought. "Ah well then let me introduce myself, I am Gosunkugi Hikaru. It's very hard to think that you have forgotten me...but ... let me enlighten you anyway."

And he continued to describe, very explicitly, to Akane's complete disgust, everything they had ever done.

* * *

Because Nabiki trusted the former rivals, she left them in one of the unused rooms. She only gave a piece of cloth for Shampoo to wipe her bloody hands and walked off to tend to the other things that she needed to do. Both Ukyo and Shampoo had stood still in the hallway since then. 

It was Shampoo who broke the silence. She pointed towards a painting of Hanae hung on the wall, along with the line of other paintings of the Saotome Clan. At the far beginning was Happosai's picture in is youth. His looks did not change much, except for his balding white hair and the addition of wrinkles. Happosai liked the paintings done in Western portrait styles, all which were commissioned from the rare Portuguese artists that managed to wander into the lands.

"Is Ranma's child, yes?" Ukyo merely nodded. Shampoo studied the face of the child for a few minutes before she commented, "She look like her father in curse form."

"Don't let the hair deceive you. Other than it was red, her features are very far from that of Ranma's." She touched Ranma's picture fleetingly, Nabiki's and his were done on the same canvas. Both were wearing their red Chinese shirts and smiling. It was probably painted just after they arrived from China. The artist captured them completely, their eyes showing the vitality and eagerness they were wont to show back then. "Though she does move just like her father. She might have inherited a talent for the art."

"Features of painted girl far from Kodachi's," Shampoo stated as she watched Ukyo's muted actions. If her rival was not there, Shampoo would surely have done the same thing as well. From where she stood, she could see the twins' similarity, it wasn't apparent and needed the critical eye but it was there.

"She isn't Kodachi's daughter," Ukyo acceded, wondering if telling Shampoo a secret that wasn't hers to share was the right thing.

"Would an honorable man, Ranma, wrong rose woman even if he doesn't love her?" Shampoo probed looking at Ukyo and searching her for the answer. Ranma's honor has always been his unquestionable virtue. His word was his bond. Ranma never lied, never cheated and always tried to do what was right. Even if it means harm to himself.

It was a fair question. But Ranma never betrayed Kodachi by sharing Ukyo's bed, and from what it looked like, not by going to Shampoo's arms either. Ukyo did not know what to say, wondering if Shampoo asked the wrong question, or if there even was a right answer.

To question Ranma's honor in his marriage vows would mean questioning their own rigid belief in his character. It was something that they both did not want to do. They would have stayed silent for the rest of the evening if Cologne didn't walk in on them.

"You two look like you've seen ghosts," Cologne said as she pogoed around them. She then looked at the painting her great-granddaughter was studying and pogoed back a bit. "What a beautiful child!"

She hopped around for a few minutes, her frown emerging slowly as she took in the appearance of the child. She stared at it for a few moments before she turned to Ukyo. "Child, whose girl is she?"

The matriarch showed an uncanny interest towards Hanae. A sign that could be interpreted either as a bad or a good one, Ukyo chose her words carefully, "She's Ranma's."

"Is she Kodachi's child?" Cologne asked sharply.

"No... no..." Another overstep in her part.

"Do you know her mother?" The steady stream of questioning implied that Cologne has her own ideas about the maternity of the child in question. From the looks of it, Ukyou would not have liked the results.

"Details are sketchy at best, but no one knows." By this time Ukyo was shifting on her feet. She didn't know what the matriarch wanted to achieve by asking the questions.

"She is Hanae?"

Ukyo nodded.

Shampoo looked at her great-grandmother with interest. "_Grandmamma is something wrong?_"

"Shampoo, it's impolite to talk a language that someone in a room cannot understand," her reprimand was light although it achieved it desired effect: Shampoo looked chastised. Cologne wanted her heir to learn. "To answer your question, no there's nothing wrong. But I may need to talk to Ranma about the girl."

* * *

Akane was a modern girl... in a very feudal situation. She wasn't aware that if a man cornered you like that, it wasn't proper. The best way a samurai of Kodachi's caliber to handle the situation was to take Gosunkugi's head. Anything less would imply she liked his attentions. Since Kodachi never took his head, it implied that Kodachi willingly played these seductive games. 

But Akane didn't know about protocol so she didn't even wound him. Gosunkugi continued his lascivious tales not believing her amnesia story. Akane tried to be nice to the man - the only person who talked to her. Even if he was more interested with her anatomy rather than conversation.

She decided she's had enough when he pushed her against the wall. "I think you should stop," Akane said firmly, but lightly enough not to be heard by the milling people.

He smiled and continued to do what he was doing. All things damned, Akane didn't care about the consequences. She shinned him and punched him in the face. She flexed her hand. Kodachi's delicate bone structure wasn't used to the breaking bricks she was accustomed to... that hurt.

Hikaru Gosunkugi doubled over. He was so much in pain that he didn't even let out a whimper. Seconds later he slumped to the ground clutching his nose and groin in agony. Akane was so mad that she didn't notice the world around her. She blindly stumbled out to find air. Any fresh air. She was just about to fall into an unknown samurai when Ranko caught her deftly with her left arm.

Ranko raised a questioning eyebrow at her and at her muddled up state. "If you really don't want his attention, kick that guy out of the grounds," her advice was given calmly although a bit skeptically.

She was past caring. "To hell with you. I'm doing what I think I should be doing."

Nabiki appeared swiftly, bending over Gosunkugi. Mostly because she wanted to know what happened than over concern for the man. She knew him enough to know the grief he caused her family. This Gosunkugi was different from the one she knew known years ago.

Her demeanor was grim when she rose and ordered the samurai under Ranma's house to throw the peasant out of the donjon. As soon as the orders left her mouth, samurai moved in on Gosunkugi. Nabiki walked towards watching the other samurai drag the limp body aside. "It seems he got out of hand. Kodachi kneed him."

Ranko dragged Akane to one of the unoccupied rooms with Nabiki following quietly behind forcing Akane on her knees. "I'm sure Gosunkugi didn't do anything he didn't try -- and succeeded in before. You've had your fun. You've had your most coveted scene, now I order you to stop this."

Akane looked up at her with wide eyes. 'Damn her. After I'm molested, she takes HIS side of the argument.' She snatched her hands from the woman's grip. "It was not at all fun, Ranko."

"End this," Ranko commanded, the voice of authority that was comfortable with the power she held. "Now."

"I want to see my husband," Akane demanded, not willing to submit to the consort's will. 'And where the hell is he? Enjoying the situation while letting his sister and his consort take care of the problem?'

"He is otherwise occupied," Ranko bit out, consciously wiping the wet drops of water that still remained on her face. Akane fleetingly dwelled on the fact that Ranko became wet so much. "Ranma has more things to think about than following his unruly wife, which is my job. He is currently --"

"Having an audience with Lord Happosai?" Nabiki asked hiding a smile with a fan she took out from the netsuke, a button designed to hold the fan inside her kimono. She fanned herself lightly.

Ranko let out a curse. Akane wondered how other women managed to cursed at this time whereas every time she did it, she was given a stern gaze. She stopped to think what was so important with the meeting with Happosai -- she didn't come up with any conclusions.

Ranko moved out to call for a guard and bit out her instructions, "Kodachi is not to leave her quarters." After dismissing them, she turned to Nabiki. "Stall Happosai, I have to do some things. Do whatever you think is best. Dance with my fiancées if you have to."

Nabiki nodded as she moved outside, a mention of water was heard and an order for a kettle for Ranko and then she was gone through the endless maze of the donjon.

Again, Akane wondered who Happosai was. Any thought in that direction was vanquished when she realized a more pressing problem. "I am **not** going to be confined in the four walls of this room, Ranko. I was invited here. As a guest I ask for my right to be let out."

"And as your MASTER--"

"As my **nothing**. I can acknowledge only **Ranma** as my master, and even that's a little sketchy on my entire --"

"I don't care!" Ranko was in front of her in a second shaking Akane's shoulders. Later, when Akane had enough time to think, she would marvel at Ranko's skill for manhandling someone superior to her in size. "You **will** obey my orders as if spoken by Ranma himself. Do you understand?"

"No, I don't!" Akane said forcefully pulling her shoulders away from the girl's grip. It did not budge. Akane looked at Ranko in awe. The girl has hands of steel. Either Kodachi was more out of shape than she thought, or Ranko really was one powerful girl.

Before anything more physical could be threatened to her the hot water arrived and Ranko took it out of the samurai's hands. She let Akane go with a glare handling the kettle deftly. "I've got to go, Kodachi--"

"It's AKANE!"

"Fine, Akane," she said with little patience over the entire matter. Akane noted that her hands were itching to use the kettle and she was eager to leave. "I've got to go, don't make any trouble for the guards."

With that, she too disappeared over the donjon's maze. Akane knitted her brows then looked at the shoji at the opposite side of Ranko's exit. She opened it gingerly, finding out that no one was watching that side. In Ranko's haste, she forgot the rooms has two entrances. Quickly she moved towards the other shoji. She walked around the maze, finding herself in the ballroom after a short while. People were dancing.

She found Ranma cordially dancing with his mother. She smiled, remembering a bit of what Sasuke told her about the norms. 'Then this is the first dance,' the dance ended slowly, his eyes riveted towards her. She wondered lightly how he found out that she was there.

After holding her gaze for a second Ranma smiled cockily then moved to a girl with brown hair, they bowed and he twirled her around. The next girl was this purple haired Chinese girl, whose dress seemed to stop circulation... he didn't stop to dance with her after those and not even after ten tries.

At this snub, people who previously ignored her, turned their backs at her. Even she knew that his snub was meaningful, that it was a signal for the other people to treat her badly. She turned around to blink the tears threatening to overwhelm her. She couldn't bear it if these people would see her cry.

She lost herself in the maze that the donjon. Finally, she found a balcony far from the noise of the party.

* * *

The fact that Happosai was trying to find Ranma for more than a stick burned his patience a few notches short of a good mood. Especially when he noted that his sister Nabiki donned the Jusenkyo curse, a similar attire to that of Ranma's and was dancing with his former fiancées. Not especially good when Kodachi was seething in the back rows of the room looking at every fiancée with scorn. He tolerated Kodachi because she was useful to an extent, he certainly didn't want her provoked enough to have a massacre on their hands. 

"Where is Ranma, Nabiki?" Happosai asked as Nabiki-kun swung one of Ranma's former fiancées within hearing distance. Nabiki fooled most of those in attendance with the age-old rituals of twins exchanging places. It was a more than adequate tool when Jusenkyo was employed. Nabiki smirked that long-suffering smirk that was identical to the siblings.

"Lord Happosai, I know my sister and I are twins but the gender difference is distinct enough. I have promised all my former fiancées a dance." Nabiki-kun flicked his pigtail as he moved the girl expertly to his right hand and smiled at Happosai's diminutive figure.

"You should not treat me this way. I am your liege lord," Happosai commanded in his most authoritative voice. It was something that would have put Ranma in a sheepish mood, but failed to intimidate his sister.

Nabiki smirked not really caring that it was a direct insult to Happosai. "Where are my manners? Lord Happosai, meet Daikoku Kaoru (5). Kaoru, my lord Happosai."

The woman bowed abjectly as would any woman in presence of a kokushiu, a Lord of the Province. Happosai acknowledged her with a dismissive nod then turned to Nabiki. "Well?"

"Excuse me, Kaoru. My liege lord demands my time." Nabiki-kun bowed to her and followed Happosai. When they were out of earshot Nabiki smiled. "I'm only following orders from Ranma, my lord. He doesn't want the other fiancées bothering him."

"Was the snub for his wife his doing as well?" Happosai asked irritated.

"Partly," Nabiki acknowledged. "I have never danced with Kodachi, she repulses me. Ranma-san said all his former fiancées. Kodachi was never his fiancée. He just married her."

That just seemed to irritate the old man ever more. "Well, where is the boy?"

"I don't really know, my lord. He didn't tell me," Nabiki lied easily as she flashed one of her smiles again, one of those that didn't quite reach her eyes. At the curt answer, Happosai dismissed Nabiki searching for Ranma himself.

* * *

The earlier exchange between Cologne and Ukyo worried the old woman, especially after seeing the likeness of Ranma's child. She looked around the halls perplexed, that child looked so much like one of the Amazon's lost ones... 

The Lost Ones(6) were the banished members of the Amazon tribe. Women and men, who for some reason or the other, forsook the clan. The girl resembled one of her heirs, Xian Pu's cousin in fact. One that equaled, and quite possibly surpassed, Xian Pu's fighting prowess. She was an extremely bright student. Rian Pu(7)also has one thing in common with her cousin: she had met a certain Ranma Saotome.

Rian was infrequently within the tribe and was banished eight years ago. She was banished because she returned pregnant, with a Japanese husband who held loyalties different from that of the tribe's. This would have been acceptable had she not been defeated by Ranma in combat. But the father of the child she was carrying was not Ranma Saotome. The situation was made worse by the fact that her chosen husband could not win against her in a fight.

She, along with her husband, faced a Jusenkyo trial. Both did not fare well and both were exiled. Hanae looked hauntingly like the girl Cologne started out to train. Hanae looked like Rian.

Ranma and Nabiki Saotome were two of the students Japan sent to learn from the Chinese Empire. Rian was the lucky Amazon who was chosen to apprentice along with them in the Emperor's palace.

By the time she circled the east wing, she realized that she managed to lose track of her quarry. She forgot Ranma's ability to seemingly melt into the shadows. Even though it was commonly known that samurai despised the use of ninja, the Saotome Clan was one of the few who learned from the art and reformed it to blend with their own style of martial arts -- Anything Goes. Indiscriminate Grappling.

Still, Happosai's clan could not compete to three thousand years of Amazon history. She found the boy on the rooftop, after a second, she saw Kodachi by the balcony of the donjon. Cologne shook her head at the scene. An old painting of a man wanting a woman and a woman yearning for the man she couldn't see.

She was beautiful, Cologne acknowledged that fact. Kodachi has the ability to charm almost anyone. Although Japanese women ranked their porcelain skin high in their priorities, Kodachi just broke the cardinal rule of Japanese beauty. She obtained a tan. Before she had the palest of skin, now, the golden tan shone through the low dim lights of the lanterns.

She has the most immaculate eyes, and the gracefulness of movements. Kodachi even managed to use the lotus gait (8), a fool headed swaying of movement acquired by Chinese women by binding their feet since childhood. Kodachi mastered it without breaking her precious feet.

But she lacked all signs of beauty that she held closely to her heart tonight and she walked in a brisk manner, more like one of her trainee amazons than the infamous lotus gait. 'Has Kodachi started to train again?' She pondered briefly.

Saotomes seem to lead tragic life styles, all of them. She thought Ranma, at least, learned to hate his wife. But tonight, seeing him gaze down at her ... it seems as if his barriers were slowly being pulled down. Even now, she could see the yearning in his face. The stubborn Japanese may deny the need for love, but Ranma was in love with his wife, even though it was obvious she did not share the same sentiments for him.

"_Are the stars beautiful out here?_" Cologne finally asked the boy in Chinese. Odd, he was in his late twenties and the matriarch still thought of him as one. But then, a lot of people would seem too young if you've lived even half her life.

"_Matriarch Kuh Lon,_" he responded in equally fluent, if not completely formal, Chinese. He tried not to show that he was startled by her appearance. "_I wasn't looking at the stars._"

Walking towards the boy, something she did not usually do for she preferred the pogoing of her staff, she stop to stand next to him then placing her staff down at the cold tile of the roof. She joined him for a moment looking at Kodachi, noticing something present in her that she did not see before. "_She looks sad, boy. Your wife looks extremely lonely._"

"_Wives are not to be pleasured, _(9)" Ranma smirked, a little of his boyishness showing through. "_Here, wives tend to their husbands and do all the necessary things as men see it fit._"

She shook her head at the obvious stupidity of the Japanese. "_Not to people who are in love._"

"_Love is a triviality Matriarch, it does not help you win a war or serve your liege lord. What is love anyway? It is a foreign word, a foreign thought. There is no such thing as love... only duty, honor, respect, loyalty... these are all we need... all we have. Love is a weakness. Love is for the fools._ "

"_Then to a fool from a fellow fool, Kodachi isn't worth your time. Happosai's a stupid old man who doesn't know better._" Cologne didn't know if Kodachi was truly Happosai's doing, but she surmised that much. From Ranma's reaction, it looked like her assumptions were correct.

Ranma turned to face Cologne, wanting to change the topic immediately, "_Why are you looking for me, Matriarch __Cologne__? I doubt it's to talk about Kodachi._"

"_My ever so wise son-in-law. Nabiki's keenness is rubbing off on you._" She laughed. She has not called him that in ages. Not since his farce of a marriage anyway. "_Well then, I have to know. Is Hanae Rian's daughter?_"

"_It's been a while since I've seen Rian, granny._" His face was distorted to a mask that Nabiki had broken down to a skill. Cologne had not realized that Ranma had also learned it. He had been more naive when they parted. "_Why do you ask?_"

"_Because I am her direct superior, because she was my heir,_" Cologne said in a manner that allowed no further discussion.

Ranma looked at her guardedly though he knew that his next words might give away what he knew of her. "_You dissolved that right when you banished her._"

"_I am still her great-great grandmother._" There was sadness in Cologne's eyes.

One which resonated into Ranma's. "Not anymore."

"_I care for the child, Ranma. She may have been banished, but that was law. My being matriarch does not help me._" She paused as she looked at the cane. It was the symbol of power among the Amazons. Sometimes she didn't know if she hated it or loved it. "_The laws bind us Elders more than anyone, for a ruler who doesn't follow the rules is no ruler at all._"

There was a long pause, neither taking their eyes away from the other, finally Cologne let out a resigned sigh. "_Fine. At least tell me how the girl came into your possession. Tell me that much._"

There was a slight frown upon Ranma's features then he sighed. "I will tell you, but only because I respect you and that Nabiki is an Honorary Amazon. You will promise that my daughter will not be taken away."

Cologne promised while settling on the cold roof tiles listening to what Ranma was saying carrying her back to the last time Ranma and Rian met, almost seven years ago. His life was ultimately changed seven years ago.

-------------------------

Ranma entered the paper house as polite as possible, leaving his geta outside the doors and bowing courteaously to Rian, this was not good. He wished that he was not the one to who was set to accomplish the task, but Happosai insisted -- demanded -- that he was the one to do it.

Rian smiled at him slowly, she was not the demure Japanese wife you expected in a house such as this one. The formal bows were not exchanged. "Tell me why has the great Ranma come to our abode?" her voice was light and teasing.

He winced again, explaining things were not his forte. His eyes traveled to her stomach, she was seven months pregnant. His thoughts traveled to his new wife. It was obvious from the beginning of the marriage that she would not be providing him an heir.

She noticed the two winces and turned to him, she tried not to show her concern. "How is your wife? I can't believe you'd leave her so soon after your marriage. Shouldn't you be busy doing things like... producing an heir?"

She stopped, possibly because she realized she was not in the Amazon village anymore, and because she realized that maybe some people were not as fortunate as her. "Is something the matter Ranma? You're acting odd."

He winced again, this time the worry broke through Rian's face. "It's not like you to -- Ranma?"

"Where is Hikome?" the demand was rasped out from his lips. Something he did not want to say, but needed to.

There was a pause then a visible tensing in Rian's body. A samurai walked to her quickly asking if she would like anything which was quickly negated. "He is out."

"Ranma?" A man got out from the central shoji -- Ranma recognized Ummei Hikome (10)immediately. Rian cursed and quickly lifted up two bonbori, her family's weapon of choice, from their resting place beside her. She used herself as a shield from her husband. "You cannot have him."

"Rian?" There was bewilderment then understanding as he raised his left hand to Rian's shoulder. His arm was but a stump, a deformity since the time of his birth. "I'm sorry, but I told you there would come a time when this would happen."

Ranma took out the scroll from his kimono, official documents for the order of Hikome and all of his clan's death (11). He was not happy to deliver such dire news to someone whom he knew since he was a child.

The man was born without a left arm, and though his family was a line of samurai, this defect stripped him of his rights. But since his parents has been trying to produce an heir for such a long time, they did not want to kill or send to the eta village the only child they were finally blessed with.

He was named Hikome because he was fled from their overlord's overseer. Hikome meant 'flight from the eye' and Ummei meant 'destiny'. Flight from the eye of destiny. His parents thought it was an appropriate name.

"The old bastard Happosai has finally found out our secret?" He was smiling as he tore open the scroll, there was no doubt about its contents and yet a smile still grazed his lips. He read slowly. "Will you act as my second, Ranma?"

"I would be honored." Ranma would have been more pleased if they could find a way for Hikome to escape. If somehow, they could shuttle him away from Happosai's eyes. Though there might be ways to do so, Happosai was angry enough because of the long standing deceit to hunt Hikome down to the ends earth if he needed to. "When?"

"I have escaped the eye long enough, ne?" He smiled then he looked at his wife then patted her belly. "Sayonara. I wish I would be reborn in pleasanter times."

The man ordered one of the samurai to bring him the white robes for the ritual suicide. When it was brought to him, he smiled and told them of what was happening, offering them either seppuku or becoming a ronin.

When he was alone with Rian and Ranma again he said, "I'd rather you not watch this, Rian."

Rian had other ideas. She pushed her husband aside and brought her bonbori to Ranma's nose, a clear sign of defiance. "_I challenge you, Saotome Ranma, vassal of the Lord Happosai, Heir of the Anything-Goes-Martial Arts, Lord of the province Nerima, Overseer to the Seven Waters of Sagami and apprentice to the Matriarch Kuh Lon of the Joketsuzoku to a duel of honor._" She issued the challenge in Chinese, so as not to alarm her husband or the other samurai of her intent. Although from her raised bonbori, it wasn't difficult to guess.

Even though he married an Amazon, Hikome certainly knew no Chinese and was bewildered at his wife's sudden act. "Go Hikome, I am going to talk to my friend." He stayed there, a helpless look in his face while his wife stood between him and certain death. "GO!"

"No, Rian, it is you who should go." Hikome held his ground but she didn't heed him. "Ranma is here because of me."

Ranma stood up slowly, wondering what he could say to calm Rian down "Rian, you're pregnant."

"_Have you acquired the knack for stating the obvious in __China__ or from Happosai?_" Her stance did not waver, and yet as sure as the sun set, she knew she was going to die. She could not beat Ranma when she was in top form, much less with a baby on the way. "_What is it to you, Saotome? You have orders to kill his descendants. My child will not live this ordeal as well, and with the only important things in my life gone. What reason is there left to live? Surely none._"

Ranma swore as he moved aside, Rian would rather kill herself than let him reach Hikome. He drew his sword out of the scabbard, the blade glistening in the afternoon light.

There was no clashing of swords, Ranma sliced the bonbori into two and shoved Rian aside to get to Hikome. Hikome offered no resistance. In a flash, it was all over, Rian knocked to one side and Hikome decapitated in another. He would have liked seppuku better, but Rian gave him no choice. He did not want to kill one of his oldest friends. Rian blinked clutching her belly and shouted her pain. "_Ranma, damn you! Come here._"

He carefully wiped the blood off his sword, not wanting to flick it clean as he would have done on any other occasion. It was stained with his friend's blood and he would honor Hikome that much, even if he wasn't able to commit seppuku. He sheathed it while moving towards Rian.

She clutched the edges of his hakama tightly in her hands. "_I think I'm having my baby. My water just broke, and I'm bleeding._" There were several moments of gasping and wheezing. There was certainly a lot of blood. "_Help me guide him into the world._"

"Rian I just killed your husband --" Ranma said slowly, took a long breath not wanting to continue what he planned to say.

Rian lifted her fingers to the lips of her friend, pained expression in her face. "_Duty is a heavy burden Ranma. You did what you had to do and I did what I thought I ought to do. We both saved our honor._"

He shifted back to Chinese. They were talking treason. "_Rian! I'm not qualified to deliver your baby! I'm not a damned doctor and even if I were one I'm honor-bound to kill him._"

"_Do you see anyone here more qualified than you?_" a valid question, especially since Ranma and Rian were the only people left in the Ummei's isolated house. There was an agonizing groan from her lips. "_He's not Ummei any longer... he's Saotome._"

Becuase he didn't want to kill a baby and because he owed his friend that much, he set her down and tried to help her deliver a baby two months too early. Everything happened too fast for Ranma remember distinctly. Thankfully, other than the child coming too early, something which Rian told him was a usual occurrence in the women of her side of the family, there seemed to be no complications.

It was the baby and not the blood that made Ranma panic. He'd seen enough blood in his entire lifetime to be scared of it. But trying to support the baby's head while coming out was something he was not accustomed to and was not planning to experience again. Another testament to men staying out of the birthing chambers when their wives deliver.

Ripping a shirt sleeve, he wiped the baby's face, strangely silent in the middle of the already too silent scene. The worry crept up to his heart at the silent child. He cut the long umbilical chord with the only sharp object he had at the moment, his sword. Lifting the baby up from the feet he hit the behind lightly, reminiscent of something he watched in the Amazon Village when he stayed there.

It was rewarded with a long attenuated cry. He released the breath he did not know he was holding, still not knowing if everything was going to be okay. Silently, he wished his sister was with him, for she would certainly have known what to do, what to say. He settled for bringing the girl closer to Rian and whispering, "_It's a girl Rian, you were wrong._"

Rian smiled weakly, cradling the too small baby in her arms. "_And Hikome was so sure it was a boy._" She was silent for a moment before she continued, "_Ranma, you've always known that childbirth is a risky business, yes? I don't think I have the strength to live on. Take care of her and rear her as your own. Forty days after my death, I hope I be reborn as your vassal to look after my child... (12)_"

Ranma's head snapped towards Rian, panic lighting his eyes. "Goddammit Rian, there would be no talk of death. Certainly not for you." Rian has always been so alive, and strong. Surely birth would not kill her. Surely one of the Amazon's pride and joy could not die this early.

Although Rian's hovering death was not obvious to Ranma, she already felt the weakening of her body brought about by the fight and subsequent delivery of the baby. But she held on to dear life for a few more minutes, just to say goodbye. Her baby was in perilous health as well. She was an Amazon. She will manage to survive a few more minutes. She ignored Ranma's defiant statement of her health and continued, "_I don't want to give her Amazon name or a Chinese one, Ranma. It is my honor if you name her._"

"_She reminds me of the frail blossoms in the Imperial palace, the ones we observed in spring, fleeting memories we have,_" Ranma whispered softly. It was also after Hikome's name, he thought he would honor his friend. 'The bud has grown Hikome, you've made a fine flower.'

"_Hana(13)... isn't it a custom to add the horse to your names?_" she asked still intent on the little girl in her hands. "_Even your central ward... Nerima... training horses, has the kanji 'ma' in the end._"

"_Happosai named Nerima._" Ranma smiled at her ruefully, remembering just how much Nerima held them all. She would be the only one who could remember something like that at such a difficult moment. "_It was a constant reminder that we are supposed to practice our skills for him._"

"_Even Nabiki was given a second name so the 'ma' could be incorporated even if it is unusual for the Japanese to recieve a second name. Shizukama, serene horse, wasn't it?_" Rian looked up to him to find out if he would confirm it.

"_Yes, but she is still your child, and I want her to be special, especially since she would have died if she showed any trace of who her father is. She will **not** be under Happosai._"

"_Then... her name shall be Hanae. Saotome Hanae. Take care of her Ranma. I want my daughter to grow up with you. You are the closest thing to family now. You and Nabiki. Tell them that you were alone with me in __China__... we were engaged after all... and we were the same age... and you did beat me in combat--_" She handed the girl to him and as he leaned closer she kissed (14)him fully on the lips. "_That was for old times sake... and my farewell to you. Promise me you'll tell her about her father and I._"

He swore his oath. Rian died a few moments later a smile on her lips, she never told him her death poem(15), although Ranma heard the distinct whisper of blossoms.

-------------------------

Cologne nodded, she suspected some of it, even if Rian never wrote about what happened to her. As for Happosai, she expected no less. The disfigured were also put to death or banished in the Amazon Tribe. Theirs were a pure blood of warriors. "_Did you love Rian, Ranma?_"

"_As I would Nabiki. She was a friend, and friends are rare in what we do,_" he whispered. She laughed. "What is so funny old hag?"

His disrespect was probably brought on by the laugh, she was not offended. "_You have all kinds women falling in love with you deshi (16), and you fall in love with someone who does not even comprehend its power. Rian was a good child, skilled and smart. If you beat her betrothed after you defeated her, you could have been her legal husband. She would have not been as so heart broken to leave __China__ without permission and get herself in love with your friend Hikome._"

"_Is it my fault that she has gotten banished then?_" he steeled at the words. He was sick and tired of people blaming him for things he did not do. He has taken the blame for far too long and he could not take it if his friend's death was his fault as well.

"_No... no..._" The Amazon Matriarch didn't know how to explain her thoughts on such a sensitive topic, so she paused and began anew, "_It was her weakness to have shared a bed with someone she wasn't married to while she was affianced by Amazon Law to another. Xian Pu has a prior claim to you and you didn't challenge her initial fiancé, but it doesn't change the fact that she was engaged to you too. It's an ironic world we live in._"

Ranma weighed the words and then thought back to Hanae's status under his care. "_What will you tell the Council of Elders in the village?_"

Cologne was dismissive of the situation, though it was obvious that she liked the idea of Rian leaving a legacy like Hanae. "_I don't see any reason why the Elders should be made aware of a Lost One's whereabouts._"

Ranma was relieved. The Elders were a nasty bunch of women that he really did NOT want to deal with. He was lucky enough that the last time he'd been called to face them was when he left China. "_Then what do you think?_"

"_That Rian died honorably protecting her husband -- she died fighting, that she has a child... the child's father is Ranma Saotome. Ranma Saotome, who was one of her legal fiancés at that time._"

He was thankful. The old crone was very generous. However, her generosity had its limits. She could easily hand him over to Happosai now. He directly disobeyed Happosai's order and she knew it. "_You're different from the young boy that I said goodbye to._"

"_The world changes Matriarch, and surely I must change with it._"

She looked at his eyes and noted sadness within that she never encountered in him before, and she was a very perceptive woman. The siblings has one thing going against them when hiding the truth: they have very expressive eyes. Though they do try their best to hide it beyond their walls, one as old as her would know this much.

As fraternal twins, Ranma and Nabiki looked nothing a like in their uncursed forms, but their eyes linked them together. Her sad brown eyes and his dark blue ones were similar in many ways. Not in color, yes, but there were things that went beyond physical appearance. The twin's eye colors change, not from blue to brown, but the deepness, the intensity. The twins have very intense eyes.

They were truly alike in that aspect, so changed from the carefree youths that studied under her. She mentally shook herself, it would not do to delve into the twin's eyes, they were useless now, and they told her nothing of what she wanted to see. "_You have matured..._"

Ranma looked startled. No one ever described Ranma as mature before. "How so?"

"_A wise man once said that a rate a person can mature is directly proportional to the embarrassment he can tolerate._"

Ranma let out a bitter laugh. "_What embarrassment? I have nothing more to be embarrassed about. I have nothing left. Everything I have in this world is already Happosai's. I have even surrendered my honor to him. He holds me in the palm of his hand, just as he holds every goddamn thing in the Tokaido!_"

"_Do I hear a touch of resentment, deshi?_" Cologne let out a laugh that rankled Ranma's nerves. It wasn't like Kodachi's. Of course not. Nothing could be like Kodachi's demented laugh. It was just that, he hated the feeling of being laughed at.

"_No. I just wish that I wasn't under him. I want to be by myself, under no man's orders._" There was a significant pause before he continued, "_I stopped wanting that a long time ago._"

"_Yes, I wish you have an eternity to stay in __China_" She laughed at the look on his face. "_You and Nabiki were rare students. I wasn't willing to let you go. You know, deshi, you're always welcome at the village. You and your sister both, we do not turn away our own. Even the Lost Ones are admitted to the village for dire reasons. I'm sure the Elders would bend the rules for their favorite exchange students._"

"Thank you." He turned to look at the stars to contemplate the matter but ended up refusing anyway, "_But I must refuse your kind offer. Honor demands that I stay here and follow Lord Happosai until he dismisses me. Duty demands I protect my land. Honor and Duty are such a heavy burden._"

Cologne nodded, it was this that made her admire the twins even in their youth. Honor and duty were not the most lenient of companions in a warrior's heart. They called at the most inopportune time in the inconvenient of all moments. And in a moment's mistake, they could leave you with the scars that would almost never heal.

She did not know what possessed her to say it, but she rose to tell Ranma the goodbye she and her great-great-granddaughter failed to do seven years past. "_May your hands block the sword that greets you,_"

He recognized the Amazonian blessing, eyes widening with realization. It was such a long time since someone gave him the honor of it. Not since they left the Amazon Village. It was rare that someone would be sent away with such blessings for it signified that they might never see each other again after their parting, a complete goodbye that would tide you over until they meet again in their next lives.

"_May your wits always guide your back,_" Cologne continued, her staff was now firmly in her hands. She would need it for the last part. "_May your wounds leave untouched your soul,_

"_And your weapons meet your intended foe._" She turned the staff around, so that the symbol of authority would touch Ranma's hand. "_Until we meet again, May your gods hold you in the palm of their hands._ (17)"

Ranma grasped her staff and bowed, offering the staff back again, with it raised above his head, Cologne nodded in approval, her pupil did not forget his lessons.

"It is my honor that Matriarch Kuh Lon leaves me with her blessing," he intoned deeply, trying to remember what response would befit an Amazon elder. "_But it will be my hands which I use to block. I am a warrior, I do not rely on any weapon to deal my fight._"

Cologne took the staff. "_My intellect shall always guard me, but my skill I must always sharpen._"

She motioned for the boy to rise. "_I shall learn from each wound, each scar a history, not of failure but a lesson._" There was a small pause, Cologne wondered if she should help him remember the next part, but he continued on after a moment, "_I shall begrudge no one, for I am their equal, I shall degrade no one for I am the comrade... _

"_My enemies I respect for to lose it, my life I may forfeit. The Kiss I reserve to those who reserve the right to it. Until we meet again, my promise, I will not forget. I am Joketsuzoku. I am a Saotome. I am Ranma._"

The last was the barest of the whispers with his fist on his chest. Cologne's face broke out to a smile. "_Ahh... I'm not one for formalities child. You did well._"

"_Well, I've memorized almost **every** ritual I have to go through here._" Ranma smiled a bit. "_Happosai is one tough old lecher. He wouldn't make me heir unless I memorized the oath to him, bushido and the vow of the Saotomes._"

"_Rituals hold power, boy, and as such, they are important. There are reasons behind rituals, even if there seems to be no logic in it._" Cologne turned to leave. Maybe the reason she went out to do that was to remind him he was still an Honorary Amazon. Maybe it was because it was to show him that she held no grudge against him. Maybe it was because she wished him well. Too many maybes, she truly didn't know. But somehow, the formality made her feel good. She may have lost her son-in-law, but she found her pupil.

"_I suggest you turn back to your wife now. I believe she is in one... difficult situation,_" she commented before she left, he was too much engrossed in the stars to see what she saw.

-

Ranma had tasked himself to follow his wife earlier, since no one capable of keeping her at bay was free at the moment. He watched her from a safe distance, purposely leaving that door unattended as to see if she would disobey him -- and she did. That woman would never learn.

Yet his heart still went out to her when Nabiki snubbed her -- an act he told Nabiki to do. And he knew it was wrong just as he fled after her retreating figure. He watched her move around the maze anger towards an action that really wasn't her fault.

He was acting like a jealous man and he didn't like it. Jealousy meant you cared and Kodachi was the last person he was willing to care for. Not again.

Ranma turned his eyes to his wife, his attention returning after Cologne's suggestion. He didn't like what he saw. Obviously, her show back in the halls didn't satisfy her enough... she just had to invite Gosunkugi to a little balcony talk. He shook his head in disgust 'Ranma, you're as gullible as the day you met her.' If he stayed a moment later he would have seen her push him off and scream.

-

Akane looked out the balcony. With its white wooden bars, it effectively sealed off anything from getting in, and anyone from going out. Japanese palaces were always made for protection, but she sometimes wished it has the soft balconies of the European ones. Just like the ones she stood on when she in the play Romeo and Juliet countless of times when she was younger.

She gripped the bars of window, wishing that she was the type of woman who cried often, but she wasn't, and she resented the fact that since she got here, all she seemed to be doing was crying.

She was frustrated at whatever force damned her to be sent to a past she hardly knew. She folded her hands over the rail and leaned over, the night was quiet, and you could hear the distinct thump of the bamboo against the stone, a fountain in one of the gardens. It was peaceful. Out here, you couldn't hear the bustle of the people.

She could think, she could think about things going on in this life and her last. Yet she could not mourn, whoever sent her here had taken mourning away from her, damn them.

Consciously she heard the distinct rasp of the shoji moving, she turned around but saw no one. She shrugged it off for nothing when someone grabbed her and forced her to the railing. "What is it with you Kodachi? First you encourage me and then you knee me?"

Akane twisted around pain shooting through her arms. Kodachi's body was not as strong as her usual one. "I'm sorry, but you were pestering me and --" She whimpered at the pain. "You're hurting me."

"Good, then maybe you realize that you still love me."

She was simply acquiescing because he was mad, and she remembered Nabiki's orders to get him out of the grounds. "How did you get in?"

"Those samurai were stupid. They left me in the last gate. Of course I can still break in." Hikaru laughed, the sadistic madman gripped her arms tighter, and she could feel a bruise forming.

She pushed him away and let out a scream, but he was back on her again covering her mouth with a hand that effectively silenced her. "You little witch! You've brought the whole house down on us."

He moved to kiss (18) her with a brutality that would form another bruise. 'He must be mad! In a keep full of samurai... mad!' Akane stared at him and for the first time in her life, Akane felt true fear.

-

Ranma turned his back to Kodachi and rushed out to find some cold water before he fetched Nabiki, it would be most peculiar if he approached his exact look a like when all his fiancées were there. Few knew about the curse.

It was then that he heard Kodachi scream, he closed his eyes in concentration to positively identify the sound. It was a frightened sort that was quickly muffled with what he guessed was Gosunkugi's hand. He was plagued with a moment of indecision before he let duty overtake common sense and ran towards where Kodachi was.

When he finally saw Gosunkugi pinning his wife down, Ranma didn't know what to think. He pulled Gosunkugi off his wife. "I don't care if it's her fault Gosunkugi, but this time, you die."

Kodachi seemed disoriented from the fact that the sudden weight was ripped off her, and seemed to sigh in thankfulness that her kimono was still intact. Ranma threw Gosunkugi down the balcony, effectively breaking at least five bars with the man, and then jumped after him.

Kodachi seeing this display, reached out her hand in a futile act to catch either one. She missed Ranma's pigtail by inches. She cursed and in the disheveled state she was in, ran to find her way to both of them, wishing that they would not slaughter each other just yet. If the fall three floors down didn't already kill them.

-

Ranma landed gracefully facing Gosunkugi's weak form, crumpled towards the ground. He gave Gosunkugi a critical look, then without his eyes leaving the man, he stated, "I need another sword."

One of the samurai who was present at the grounds threw him one without a scabbard. Gosunkugi wouldn't need the hilt. He wasn't practicing any form of sword arts, least of all battoujutsu(19), the only other art that would require the use of the sheath. The samurai probably didn't want the saya(20) handled by an untrained idiot such as Gosunkugi. Besides, most of the samurai in the Saotome clan didn't use conventional methods in fastening their two swords down. Sometimes they even left the short sword out of their attire. It made to hamper some of the moves in Anything Goes.

Ranma caught the sword with one hand and threw it down to Gosunkugi's prone form. Ranma relaxed his stance, a clear signal to anyone practicing Anything Goes that he was about to fight, while waiting for Gosunkugi get up. Gosunkugi's bruised body could probably take a little more beating.

Drawing his own sword Ranma, gave him a feral smile. "I am Saotome Ranma, Lord of the Sagami, vassal to the Lord Happosai, heir to the Anything-Goes-School of Martial Arts." He did not mention the entire string of titles. Unlike Kuno, Ranma didn't like the formality of fighting too much. This was it then, he decided this and he would end this slowly, he promised Gosunkugi a world of pain.

The formalized ritual of death would end with one of them dead, and it was glaringly obvious who would die that night. "I am... Gosunkugi Hikaru, a mere peasant who sells his craft." Gosunkugi's name and title was full acceptance of the challenge Ranma just threw down.

'Good,' Ranma thought, 'the spineless coward is going to get his worth.' He didn't mind that he was a peasant. He didn't mind that Gosunkugi was a stupid idiot. He didn't mind that Kodachi probably caused this whole thing. This idiot was going to die tonight, not only for the reason that he disobeyed samurai by stepping on the grounds again, but because he touched his wife.

"It's a good night to die," Ranma commented as he stood there loosely regarding Gosunkugi. The guards that were circling them wouldn't dare interfere. Not after it became official. It was a duel to the death, which only Ranma or Gosunkugi could stop. And only through the acquisition of either one's head. When Ranma spoke those first words he started what he knew should end quickly.

Gosunkugi laughed, Ranma thought that the impatient man would be the first to attack. Gosunkugi was known for taking his advantages whenever he can and Ranma looked like he was just standing there inviting an attack. The first blow came, easily predictable, if a bit wild in its use. The clash of Ranma's sword against Gosunkugi's own was a surprise to Gosunkugi, but well heard. The vibration of Gosunkugi's sword rattled through his arm.

Ranma didn't attack yet. Parrying most of the wild swings Gosunkugi threw at him. Gosunkugi used the sword as a stick, sometimes, even as an axe, continually whacking where he could, when he could. The sound of metal against metal ringed through the silence. "That's good, for a five year old. It's still not good enough to live."

"It's not like I've trained or anything!" they were foolish words, useless and a waste of breath. There came a series of blows and attacks by the hand and by the sword. There was something eerily familiar about this fight, as Ranma dodged all of Gosunkugi's blows managing to bruise and cut his opponent in the process.

'Time to end this game...' He thought as he brought on one of the first techniques he managed to learn in China, "KAACHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!"

-

Akane took off across the maze of shoji to look for Ranma and Gosunkugi when she heard Ranma's battle cry. She put some more speed in her already fast pace, finding them not far from the balcony they fell from. Locating them was not difficult. She just followed the screaming cheers, the clang of metal against metal and the general flow of the people.

When she got there, she spied Ranma's mother with a shriveled up old man and Nabiki.

She noted the situation of the fighters when she finally managed to push through the crowd and gasped, assessing Gosunkugi would definitely not last any longer. She did notice that Ranma did not see her, that or he just didn't acknowledge her. His mind was set on the fight. He was unquestionably going for the kill.

"Please stop it! Honestly, there's really no point in this. I know your reasons are noble but that's enough. PLEASE!" she shouted over the cheers, and winced at Gosunkugi's face. It was going to be a mass of blue in a few minutes. She turned to Nabiki who insightfully changed into a girl when she headed out, to ask for help, "Please, you're his sister, help me stop them."

"Why should I?" Nabiki answered not taking her eyes off the fight, smiling at the simultaneous block of the sword then jab to the side Ranma just executed. She did question why Ranma waited to relieve Gosunkugi of his sword. "My brother is obviously winning."

"But he's killing Gosunkugi!"

"It's his right to kill him." Nabiki turned towards her, regarding Kodachi with her cold brown eyes, so much like her brothers steel blue ones. "Besides you should be honored."

"I don't think I should be honored over useless spill of blood. Why the hell should I be honored?" She just had to wonder at the entire attitude over killing. It was as if it was an everyday occurrence. She shuddered, it probably was.

"Because they're fighting over you..." Nabiki smiled. "And Ranma rarely fights for anyone else other than his liege lord and his clan. And you are neither."

"I'm his wife."

Nabiki looked at her with her steel brown eyes and stared her down. "Kodachi, surely you must know that there is a difference between a mere title and the truth. In his heart, you were never his wife."

Ranma continued to ignore Akane, just as he usually did. Those multiple punches should have Gosunkugi down by now, writhing in pain. The Amaguriken technique was a lethal one used in the right pressure points against a weak opponent. He was surprised he wasn't dead. "Is that the best you can do? You haven't even touched me."

Akane couldn't bear it anymore, forcing her way past the samurai encircling Ranma and threw herself between the two. "STOP IT! Stop it already. Please stop."

She yelled, her heart beating faster. It was the most illogical thing to do, because her husband wouldn't really stop for her. They weren't exactly in the best terms. But if she realized one thing it was that her husband could not and would not kill her...

He could just severely mutilate her.

-

Ranma didn't know what made him use the Amaguriken. His skill alone, even without special techniques would have been enough to kill Gosunkugi. He wasn't even using chi attacks, that alone was a show of mercy. He knew Hikaru was beaten, his face and body was nothing but a mass of bruises.

He pulled the short sword from its sheath, the sword designed to take the head of the losers he came up with, those who were to die. He was about to shove Kodachi aside to take Gosunkugi's head when she pulled upon the back of his kimono.

"No, Ranma, don't kill him. It's all right, I'm fine," Kodachi pleaded with him. "He is nothing, and he'll always be that now, barakumin (21)!"

Ranma briefly wondered over the unfamiliar word 'village dweller'? but it didn't hinder him from approaching Gosunkugi's beaten form. "You are interrupting a duel of honor. It is my right to kill him. He knows the consequences of failure. I will have his head."

"I will kill myself," Kodachi threatened. The distinct rasp of metal unsheathing made Ranma turn to his wife, whom he already walked past. His lovely disheveled wife who was pointing a knife towards her heart.

He resolved that once he was home he was to order Nabiki to confiscate all her arms. His mind moved quickly. He was not near enough to strike the dagger away, but Nabiki was, probably Sasuke. Ranma deliberated how serious the bluff was.

"Go, Hikaru!" Kodachi shouted, dagger shaking visibly in her hands, and in that moment, Nabiki-kun finally chose to intervene bringing her katana over and striking Kodachi's dagger with it. Sasuke moved in to catch the wildly flying projectile.

Ranma turned to run after Gosunkugi. But was stilled by the order, "Ranma stay."

Ranma turned slowly to Happosai, the man who uttered the order. "He is getting away, sir. He has insulted me. I ask permission to hunt him down. It is my duty to see him dead. He accepted a formal challenge."

"I said no!" Happosai turned to Nabiki. "Make sure he obeys the order. There are too many cats that prowl the night here in the Musashi. I will not waste my men searching for you, not needlessly risk them fighting you when you encounter a cat. You are uncontrollable in that state of mind."

Ranma bowed, which Happosai acknowledged it with a nod. Looking towards Kodachi, Ranma thought, 'Why did she protect Gosunkugi? Don't tell me she really does love that bastard.'

Nabiki nodded to him, and he noticed that she already changed back and was very damp, already substituting her richly garbed kimono for the hakama she worn in place of Ranma. He wondered briefly if Kodachi noticed the change. If she did, she did not comment.

Happosai turned to the guests crowding the hallway. "Kodachi is a bit ill from all the commotion and will be resting in her room. The Lady Nodoka and I still welcome you here for the remainder of the night. But I believe that Ranma, Kodachi and Nabiki need their rest."

All of them nodded, this was Happosai, and he spoke. The night of events would go on. But for them, it was formally over, after all Kodachi, Ranma and Nabiki were three of the most influential samurai under Happosai's wing present in this gathering. What gossip it would bring.

* * *

**Footnotes:**

(1) Did social gathering then have **dances**? Well, frankly I don't know... maybe folk dances but I really doubt it could have the waltz and stuff... but since I'm a fanfic author and I want dancing I'm putting it in... call it creative license or something or the other... hmmmm...

(2) **Shimoda style**. Okay, I don't know how this looks like, enlighten me. I just found it in this Japanese handbook. I do know it is a hairstyle favored in the olden times.

(3) **Yofuku**: foreign clothing, tailor. (And she's the seamstress... is there a pattern here?)

(4) **Geta**: traditional wooden thongs

(5) **Kaoru Daikoku**: 'Sweet Smelling Flying Stand' or something to that effect.

In the manga, the Martial Arts Take Out Race's main adversary was Shampoo. However, in the anime it was Kaoru.. Did I get the name wrong?

kaoru: sweet smell nice  
dai: subject, theme, topic  
stand rest rack  
koku: aviation, flight

(6) **Lost ones**? I am not referring to Ryoga, any part of the Hibiki clan or anything related to him, remotely or otherwise. And no, they do not get lost frequently or anything of the sort. And no they are not in any of the Ranma  
thingiemajigs, I invented them. Happy :)?

(7) **Rian**: Hmmm I have no idea if this is a Chinese name... I used Tan before but to the suggestion of my sister and some persuasion I used Pu. It sounds better anyway.

(8) **Lotus Gait**? For a long time in China, self-mutilation was a common enough thing in women. Little feet were among the most sought after beauties. Men actually found this erotic. When they bind their feet after a period of about two years the bones hampered by the little shoes they wore broke forming all twisted feet. This produced a very sensuous walk for the females. Of course it was also very painful. Foolish men don't actually know what those feet look like, they just like the way they walked. This is such a bad idea. Kids don't try it at home.  
(Source: Ripley's Believe it Or Not!)

(9) What did Ranma mean by **'wives are not to be pleasured'**? Well in Japan (feaudal Japan anyway) wives duty were to serve their husbands and their liege lord. That is their only happiness. Lemons as a means of having fun were limited to the consorts. This is the reason why Kodachi has her little trips... hehehe...

(10) Ummei Hikome:

hiko: flight, escape  
me: bud or sprout can also mean eye  
ummei: destiny, fate, fortune

-- flight from the eye of destiny :)

(11) Why was Ranma ordered to kill Ummei? Well that's simple, in Japan the malformed are even lower than eta. In feudal Japan samurai were not allowed to be malformed. When they were, they were put to death, sometimes with a sign over their graves, 'This man was born samurai by mistake.'

(12) **Reborn **within forty days? Well in Buddhism they believe that a person's karma reflects on what he is in the next life. They also believe that they are going to be reborn within forty days. (Until  
they reach Nirvana)

(13) **Hana **means blossoms or flowers the e was just added to soften the name and...make it unique :)

Also Ranma chose this name because the 'me' in Hikome also means bud, from which a flower blooms, thus honoring his friend.

(14) So why did Rian **kiss **Ranma...? Hmmm... remember the Kiss of Death and the Kiss of Marriage (?) I'm taking this as a sign that Chinese knew the art of kissing before the Japanese... and they don't really share the Japanese thinking about kissing PLUS she was dying should I label this the Kiss of Death then... nahhh...

(15) What is a **death poem**? This poem is reserved to the Buddhist people, and since the major religion of China is Buddhism, we're just making Rian a Buddhist. In a Buddhist's death, she/he is required to make a death poem (and they ponder on this before dying).

(16) **Deshi**: Japanese pupil.

(17) I derived this from an Irish Blessing. Ranma's answer though is my own doing (which is probably the reason why it ain't that good :)

Here's the original, lest I be sued or something:

May the road rise to meet you,  
May the wind be always at your back,  
May the sun shine warm upon your face,  
And rains fall softly against your field,  
Until we meet again,  
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.  
_Irish Blessing_  
(Source: Papelmerotti Gift wrapper)

(18) Why was Gosunkugi going to kiss Akane? Well... when they were on the balcony... it was the equivalent of raping her... kay?

(19) **Battoujutsu**: For those of you who watch Rurouni Kenshin, you'd know this one :) As for me... hmmm... well...

Battou Sheath, IIRC.

Battoujutsu appears to be  
1) the ability to quickdraw one's sword from the sheath or  
2) the ability to use the sheath as a weapon. Battousai  
literally means "sword and sheath," which can be  
interpreted as "being able to use both as a weapon"  
(which is why he explained his name during the Kurogasa  
arc.)

Copied exactly from the reply of Mr. Lawrence Chu, thanks :)

(20) **Saya**: sheath, cap

(21) What are **barakumin**? Well let's go back to eta (back in chapter 4 and foot note (26)). In the Meiji era the eta caste was abolished, they were re-termed as barakumin. Officially, etas don't exist, unofficially though the discrimination is still felt. Barakumin are less noticed to the youths of today... but more apparent when they're married ('cuz they check for signs of barakumin).

* * *

**Special Thanks to:  
**MJ, Maurice Phillip, Tony Loco, Tin and Angel, Jourdan Bickham, Jose Aragao, Byooki Desu, Anno Nimus, C. Jones, Richard Robinson, David Bateson, David Stanley, Jitou, King Chan, Lawrence Chu, Bert Miller, The Dragonbard, Darthcwader1, Erin, Outlawone1, David Calvarese, Larry F 

And to the person reading this.

* * *

**Disclaimer**: Ranma and co. were borrowed from Rumiko Takahashi. The story is based on a book, _When there is Hope_.

* * *

**Author's notes: **

Added in this revision was the description to Akane's kimono. It's better now, ne? I really realized I should have researched what a kimono looks like before I wrote this out.

Although it's noted here that Nabiki has a second name, and it's Shizukama, I was recently informed, that there is no such thing as a Japanese second name. (They don't have two names anyway, like Mark Jason Atkins) so we'll just take this Nabiki's second name as another name branded to her because she's a Saotome. It's a small matter, and I think it would still hold water. It's not that far off the mark and it's still a believable suspension of reality for those purists out there.

I'm sorry for this discrepancy, but it's too far along the story for me to change this small detail, and it doesn't affect reading of it too much anyway.

Rian's pregnancy was another source of argument between my sister and I, and we have now come in to an agreement regarding the 'birthing scene' as she has called it. If people have read this from the FF.N version, it's different in the fact that Rian was dying after her giving birth, as opposed to before the birth in which the original implied. A much more believable fate for an Amazon warrior.

Though my sister had a large objection to Rian's kiss before she dies (she says it's too morbid), I find that there's nothing bad with the entire thing. In fact, it's a very piognant moment, where a very strong woman, someone who we hardly know at all except from Ranma's telling of her, and Cologne's own insight towards the girl, dies. Leaving behind a child at the care of her former love.

Gaah, Actually, I never expected Gosunkugi to appear, but hey, everyone seems to be popping out of nowhere, so why not him? He seemed the perfect Kodachi crony... and we have a lack of Kodachi cronies out there. My sister swears Gosunkugi sounds too much like a drug addict to her, and I replied: well he does look like one, doesn't he:)

I don't know if Japanese actually celebrate their birthday after their first year or anytime in the middle (until they reach old age), usually, they just add their years at New Year's and leave it at that, but sometimes old people/important people get honored. So you can choose Happosai's reasons for Nodoka's celebration. It doesn't matter.

iCe

14,829 words

* * *

**Revision**:  
06/29/06 : minor grammar revision, added description of kimono to Akane's dress.  
04/02/06 : common mistakes in the English language  
01/14/06 : changed tenses (had), changed quotation mark punctuation  
10/18/05 : grammar  
12/28/04 : Changed Rian's Birthing Scene

* * *

**website: **ice _dot _esmartdesign _dot _com  
**email**: siuane _at_ gmail _dot_ com  
**livejournal**: ice _underscore_ of _underscore _dreams

* * *

We sometimes tend to forget that criticsm is better than praise, when we criticize we say that the other person has the ability to accept our words and take it as a challenge to become better because of this.  
my teacher (hehehe)

* * *

I write when the spirit moves, and I make sure it moves every day.  
unknown


	8. Part 7 : May

**Revision  
** 04/02/06 : common errors in the English language  
01/14/06 : changed tenses (removed had when possible), and changed quotation punctuation  
10/18/05 : grammar  
04/28/05 : punctuation, grammar and colorful word fix (Media Miner Upload)  
01/07/05 : Fixed ending scene with Nabiki since she was too childish and some grammar.  
12/28/04 : Added a ranma-akane scene and corrected grammatical errors.

* * *

Sweet are the hours in one's own country  
Where all is friendly underneath the sun,  
Sweet are the breezes from the native rice fields,  
Death less bitter and love more sweetly won!  
**Dr. Jose P. Rizal  
**_Noli Me Tangere_

* * *

**Rendezvous with Fate v.3  
**by iCe  
Chapter 7

_...Hikaru Gosunkugi... yes, he was one of Kodachi's sins. She turned him into a monster. It seems like Kodachi was skilled in this kind ofthing..._

* * *

Soon the hallway was clear except for Sasuke, Nabiki, Ranma and Kodachi. Kodachi was pale from the experience, but she did manage to lean on Ranma for support. Nabiki followed closely behind with Sasuke bringing up the rear in their small procession.

Ranma pulled Kodachi into their room and looked at her face. Nabiki raised her eyebrow in question but did not comment. The bruising was already starting. "Get me something to put on her lips to stop the swelling. Sasuke, call for Ifuku. Nabiki, please come here."

Nabiki sat down gently beside her brother, both surveying her critically. Seeing them side-by-side, it was the first time Akane saw that they shared the same eyes. Though different in color, Ranma's being its unique bluish gray and Nabiki's a deep hazel brown, the contour and the same impossibly long eyelashes framed them. They shared the same bone structure, high and well defined. As she looked from one to the other, could believe they were twins.

The difference was their coloring and their hair. Ranma's curled a little reminiscent of his mother's own locks, but was well hidden with the plait of his braid, while Nabiki's was straight possibly from their father's side. It was probably that obvious difference which differentiated them. They probably looked identical as infants. Akane began to feel noticeably faint during the examination of the twins and managed to give them warning just before she fainted.

"The stress must have been too great," Ranma muttered as he laid her down on the nearby futon that one of the maids already prepared for that evening.

Nabiki looked at Kodachi's head critically. "She's hit her head again, seems like Gosunkugi managed to bang her head on the rail of the palace. Luckily, it isn't in that old wound," she was referring to the one that gave Kodachi her amnesia.

Ranma nodded and turned to the water that Ifuku brought to clean Kodachi's cuts. He looked at the water tentatively then at Nabiki. Even if he knew that immersing his hands in water would not activate the curse, some part of his mind was always cautious about touching water. Jusenkyo managed to do that to all its victims. He shrugged, then picked up the washcloth and dipped it in the cold liquid.

Gently Ranma cleaned Kodachi's face and scalp, while Nabiki set out to disinfect the worst of the wounds that she acquired. On Nabiki's orders, Ifuku disrobed Kodachi so that she would soak in the furo. The warmth of the water would be good for her body.

Silence settled over the three of them as they worked efficiently and methodically over her, from her head to her feet. It was not unusual for the twins to work on minor wounds, battle injuries taught them that much.

There was a long pause before Nabiki spoke up. After the show in the gardens, she didn't know what to think of Ranma and whatever reservations he held against his wife. She spoke in Chinese because she didn't want others to hear her misgivings, "_Ranma... don't tell me you're falling in love with her again._"

"_No... no. I don't make the same mistake twice, Nabiki,_" Ranma said moving the cloth towards her arms and legs, which were dirty from the scuffle. Gosunkugi managed to do a lot of damage in the short time he managed to isolate her.

"_What's going on Ranma?_" Nabiki sighed, usually the brother and sister spoke in Chinese when they didn't want to be understood. Nabiki picked up on languages very well and learned some basic words from Chinese merchants before they were sent on the errand to China and luckily she could speak some of the basic sentences before the Matriarch from the Amazon village started to instruct them. Ranma learned off from her, eager to show one up over their foster father Genma.

"_I'm just as confused as you are Nabiki. And it's scaring me. You're never confused._" He looked at his sister worriedly. "When I left her to check on the border, she was still acting her normal self, and I found her like this..."

Nabiki looked at her brother then at Kodachi, her heart constricted at the pain in his eyes. She caught him move his fingertips against her bruised lips, tracing the bluish black spots. "_She is beautiful isn't she?_" Nabiki commented off handedly, probing her brother's mental state.

"_No. She's adopted the deep brown skin that is a trait of the commoner, she's got calluses, and she's far too brash and..._" Ranma trailed off helplessly, his hand on her hair.

"_And we were not raised like ordinary Japanese._" Nabiki laughed. Ranma was startled. It was something so rarely heard from her person. "_Ranma, I know you like those who don't care much for appearances, women who train in the sun for the art... women who don't fawn over you. Women who are the exact opposite of your ex-fiancées and women who definitely are the exact opposite of Kodachi... well except for her fawning over you part. She hasn't exactly flattered you over the seven year marriage._"

"That's the key word. The exact opposite of her." Jerking his hand as if it had been burned, he called for the samurai out of the door and told him to ready the furo.

He stood up to leave, but Nabiki blocked him. She wanted to get an answer out of him. Just to prove that her hunch was wrong. "_She's cheated you more than once, with different men. Framed me and ruined our lives. Blackmailed the family. Ruined Ranko's reputation. Doesn't take care of her duties to you. Doesn't produce you an heir. Caused me my miscarriage--_"

Ranma's hand went to his brow, and used his other hand to wave her off. The list Nabiki was starting to tell was an endless one. "Nabiki..."

Nabiki searched her brother's face for something, anything that would work against Kodachi. She found none.

That scared her.

For years his life held a semblance of control. His life held no joy, but there was no conflict either. Now...

He didn't know where he stood. Kodachi for the most part was a lunatic. The only presence that used to be seen in her eyes was the madness that lurked there, the Kami that played with her soul. Now, it seemed she was cured of her madness. That or a different Kami possessed her body.

He threw one final disgusted look at Kodachi then left for his quarters. Nabiki watched him go.

* * *

Ranma bowed low, it was a whole day after he arrived at the donjon, and Happosai was not pleased. He was expected to deliver his findings the moment he set foot in the palace and he deliberately avoided him.

Happosai was not one to listen to anyone's side patiently. Ranma hoped Kodachi's demonstration of lunacies the previous night would make Happosai think that he was merely keeping tabs of his overwrought wife.

Fortunately, Happosai did not comment on his late report. He found other things to criticize with his time.

"My lord Happosai, I fear that I should go back to Rose Brier, as soon as possible. I request the Lady Nabiki, my sister, to come with me," Ranma said, still in his bowed position.

Happosai puffed on his pipe then shrugged leisurely. "Tell me your report of the countryside, the estates, and why you want to go and I'll think about it."

" Kodachi is suffering from memory loss and the doctor has advised to keep her in familiar surroundings to help her regain her memory," Ranma informed Happosai as he looked up and settled into the cushion. He honestly didn't like the idea of Kodachi getting her memory back, the fact that it was gone was still in question, but it was the only way he could observe her without Happosai interfering.

For an old man, Happosai was one hell of a manipulator. Damn the man who cursed them all, he was a worse plague than Kodachi. But he was their liege lord and he must be followed... at least until the right heir takes his place.

"You are aware that this feast is in honor of your mother?" Happosai asked, a little bit irritated. Ranma wondered if his presence was needed for the banquet. The old lech must have some plans set for them.

"Yes sire, but..." Ranma tried not to place his hand behind his head, a clear sign of indecision. He silently cursed that Nabiki couldn't take this interview, since manipulation was her best skill. So he proceeded with the story he came up with Nabiki. He would have to play out everything slowly. "Our mother does not need us on the day of her birth. We have already celebrated with her and we fear that more days away from our duties would bring bad tidings to the clan."

"Bad tidings?" Happosai, for an impatient man, asked a lot of questions.

"Troops have been mobilizing around Nerima, sir, and we fear that if we leave Rose Brier for too long, they might get access to the Tokai(1) Road." The Tokai road started at Rose Brier, and ended at the city of Edo. It was the road from Nerima in his han, Sagami that has the easiest access to the main city.

Happosai nodded, the Tokai was needed. Edo was an important capital. After all, it was the Saotome Clan's main fort. "And why does Nabiki need to be present?"

"We are two halves of a whole, sire. I handle all things that have to do with troops and fighting, and she has the job of thinking things over." Ranma paused wondering if that was the right image to feed Happosai. A needy daimyo is not an effective daimyo. "Sagami would be powerless with half of its leadership gone."

Happosai smiled then drew on his pipe again. "Then it seems you should thank your wife for handing you Nabiki back on a silver platter. However did you manage to think intelligently these past few years without her?"

Ranma cursed his luck. He stumbled again. Happosai just gave him another reason not to kill Kodachi... another reason in a long line of reasons that Happosai came up with over the years. He didn't doubt that if Nabiki was present, she would have seen through whatever ploy Happosai was weaving him into.

"My twin and I have compensations for the lack of skill, sire. Though I may not be as bright as my sister nor she as advanced in the art... we still both have something that the other excels in. We are not one brain halved, merely two people who are equal. Since we are not an exact copy of the other... we each have an advantage the other does not have. It is what we learned in China, sire."

Happosai nodded, he heard the right answer... this time... "Well then, your departure may be arranged. After all, we wish the Lady Nabiki to feel better from her sickness, ne? And the soothing waves of Rose Brier may just be the cure." Happosai flashed a toothy smile.

Ranma breathed a sigh of relief. What he said wasn't necessarily a lie. Troops are mobilizing but far from the Tokai road... and more directly towards the Nerima ward than anywhere else.

"Tell me boy. What have you learned from the last errand I sent you off to?"

Ranma swallowed, the time to play games was nigh. How much could he tell without contradicting himself and how much is too much. How much was he willing to reveal, and would these things make Happosai suspicious.

Clearing his mind, he began to narrate, "Troops suspected belonging to Tokugawa Ieyasu's(2) enemy -- unconfirmed exactly to whom -- have been moving against the Sagami--"

The interview lasted for five whole sticks. Nabiki was glad she was ordered to bed. It seemed that she acquired the flu rather mysteriously.

* * *

Having broken her head once before in this ordeal gave Akane's abused an excuse to hurt when she woke up. As soon as she did move, there was the disoriented feel every time she opened her eyes into the different rooms that she was hoisted into through her stay with the Saotomes.

The room was dim so she barely registered movement in the corner of her room. The shadow was about to slip out, but she managed to muster a groggy voice, "Wait, wait." The figure hesitated but Akane reached out for it. "Thank you for watching over me."

"I'm sorry about Gosunkugi. It's not going to happen again." Even in the darkness, Akane could recognize Ranma's voice.

Akane smiled at his concern, so her husband wasn't totally indifferent to her after all. He worried about her enough to stop by and check on her. He was worried enough about Gosunkugi. "Please stay awhile, Ranma. I would like to talk to you."

Ranma stood there for a while deliberating if he would leave or not. His conscience won over sitting beside her. "You're leaving tomorrow. I will not be going with you, I have business to attend to here but Ranko and Nabiki will accompany you back home."

The room wasn't completely dark because of the hallway lamps and she could see his outline. It was the troubled sort, worried for her condition, yet hesitant, guarded. She brought one hand up to his face. Ranma was a man difficult to love. He made it difficult for her to love him, but right here when they were the only two people in the room she could sense what he has kept hidden from all others, a pained life. One which made him the man he was today.

"We're not friends now, are we?" Akane asked softly, omiais usually didn't deal out friends or love. They were the harsh realities of heirs and bloodlines. There were no emotions in these matches, arranged marriages that did not have a home. "I'm willing to try so badly to be friends, Ranma. Would it hurt so much just to be my friend?"

He averted his face and took her hand away. "We were never meant to be friends, Kodachi." Ranma's resignation resonated through him. He did not believe in second chances.

"Thank you for protecting me from Gosunkugi, Ranma," Akane whispered as he stood up to leave her. He was her only defendant in that row of people, when all else scorned her, when all else turned their backs on her. "Thank you for fighting for me."

"He shouldn't have gotten away. I should have killed him."

"Don't stain your hands with his blood for me," Akane appealed softly. "I'm fine. That's what matters."

"Men have died for lesser insults," Ranma asserted, regretting the words. "Rest well, my lady. Tomorrow you leave. I did not mean to disturb your sleep."

* * *

The next morning, it was as if her conversation with Ranma never happened. Akane woke up with one hell of a headache and sat up on the futon with aching muscles. Akane confirmed her memory of Ranma's words that night from Ifuku and learned that she, along with several other companions, was ordered to travel and were being sent back to Rose Brier even in her condition. Ifuku tended to her constantly, but Ranma did not visit her again.

During their journey, Akane only noted Nabiki, Ranko, Sei and Hanae. As Ranma informed her, he was left behind and apparently, so was his mother. One of the samurai informed her that it was because Ranma's presence would bring more complications. Akane just took that as a sign to befriend at least Nabiki or Ranko. Unlike her first hit on the head, her healing process was more gradual, and she barely noticed the days as they traveled.

Once they reached Rose Brier she decided to try to move about but Ifuku forcibly let her sleep the day off. When she finally got out to the beach, she was restricted to walking.

At the path, she looked at the nice little flowers that dotted the way towards the beach and sighed as she walked along in her day kimono. A cat mewed in the distance. Having nothing better to do, she followed the sound to find the animal. It was obviously lost and the poor little thing was shivering. She lifted the pitiful animal up and stroked its fur softly whispering as she turned towards the house to see to some food.

As usual, samurai were not too far behind to see her, and she ignored them as she usually did. They almost never bothered her unless she severely encroached over certain rules, and even then very lightly. So it came as a surprise when one immediately blocked her path.

She tried to put on her sunniest smile, she was learning the rules and it was at best a tedious process. There was no rulebook, no norms, and she was expected to know these things and implement them. "What is it?"

"I'm sorry Lady Akane." The samurai, Omokage(3) -- if she was not mistaken -- looked at her uncertainly, then at the small animal at her hands. The prevention of cats to gain access to the area was one of the little odd rules that the Lady Nabiki made sure the samurai never forgot, but was not mentioned to Kodachi. "No cats are to be allowed within the parameter of Rose Brier."

Assuming that one of the people inside the house was allergic, Akane nodded. It was a severe rule for a mere allergy, but was a rule nonetheless. Death was an easy sentence to give in those times and people were less forgiving.

She changed her direction towards the beach when the samurai stopped her again. "If I may ask the Lady Akane to hand over the kitten? Lord Ranma will not be pleased to see it."

Akane bit her lip as the little thing mewed pitifully in her hands, as a little girl she always had an attachment to strays. Little lost creatures without a home always found a small bowl waiting for them in their kitchen before she sent them away. "Please, Omokage-san, I promise I won't take it in the house. I'll just go pick raspberries or something and feed it. I'm sure Ranma or anybody else won't turn crazy when they see a cat."

Omokage looked at her then frowned in puzzlement at her comment, unsure how to react to her last statement. Akane took this for a yes and thanked him cheerfully. The samurai followed close, whereas before, he always did so at a distance. 'Someone must really hate cats or something.'

Sighing she turned to face the samurai. "Um... I think he's hungry, I'll go by the border and set it free if you get me some milk?" It seemed that the cat was of importance to him.

Torn between loyalties, the samurai gave her an uneasy look. Akane was almost in the stage of giving up. It seemed like he was not going anywhere. "Look, I promise I won't bring him anywhere near the house. I'll even take him to the farthest possible place. I'll just feed him and then I'd give him to you to give to some little girl who would take care of him nicely. Okay?"

There was a long pause but he reluctantly agreed to do as she wished, retreating to the woods and then running for the house. Akane stared after him 'He didn't have to run. He could've taken his time. Oh well...' She walked towards the beach in relative peace.

-

"--Ooof." Ranma-chan grunted, the wind knocked out of her. She pushed herself upright again bringing her hand up to her head and moaned softly. Still, it was Ranko's fault. The woman was recklessly running towards Rose Brier without looking where she was running.

It was also attributed to the fact that she just saw a cat. She shuddered. It seemed like there were too many cats around lately. She idly wondered if that girl living some miles north was losing those cats she was breeding.

"Are you all right?" Ranma asked looking at who he knocked down -- well surprise-surprise -- Kodachi was walking about. The doctor must have given his okay already. The samurai were under strict instructions to follow the doctor's orders.

"No, of course I'm not all right!" Kodachi said indignantly as she moved to stand up brushing her kimono. Her eyes flashing in the raw release of emotion she seemed to favor now over her old calculated laughter. She glared at the offered hand and stood up without Ranma-chan's help. "Would you mind watching where you're going?"

"Well, sorry, my lady," Ranma answered angrily as he turned her back to Kodachi moving towards the house again. He really needed to tell some samurai to watch the perimeter more closely. Plus the thing about the troops... he just has an idea which...

"The least you could do is help me find it," Kodachi mumbled, already on her knees going through some bushes, searching for whatever item she lost.

Ranma resisted the urge to grumble, telling himself he would not let Kodachi get satisfaction from his discomfort. His message could wait. It was rare that she could see Kodachi in a situation like this. The troops weren't really closing in on Nerima anyway, just mobilizing. They were probably biding for time. "What are you..."

"Found it!" Kodachi yelled triumphantly which made Ranma-chan look up from the place she was searching. Unfortunately it was under a low lying branch which she hit as she stood up. "Owww..."

She rubbed her sore head for a few seconds before she heard a distinct meow behind her. The hairs behind her neck began to stand. "Exactly what was it that you were trying to find Kodachi?"

"This kitten, silly... you're not allergic to it, are you?" Kodachi asked worried as she purred over the cat, which thankfully Ranma still hasn't seen.

'That has got to be one of the stupidest questions she's asked me.' Ranma thought nervously, his body freezing, the distinct symptoms of her ailurophobia surfacing. He still managed to speak, "Get it away from me."

"What! This..."

"I said get it AWAY!" Ranma almost shouted, his breathing labored. 'Oh Kami, please let that stubborn witch listen...' "I don't know what you're trying to prove but get it away from me."

Kodachi looked at the little cat as she cradled it against her arms from the grass, specks of dirt falling softly on her pale kimono. She scratched the back of the cat's ears then looked at Ranma contemplatively.

Ranma's response to that was to back away, Kodachi merely looked at him. "Oh, come on, Ranko, you can't possibly be afraid of one little cat." She patted the small creature as she smiled. "And you can't be allergic or you'd be sneezing at the moment."

There was no answer from the paralyzed girl as she stared at the cat, it was too far out of her reach to trigger the Neko-ken but close enough to send shards of fear through him. Enough for him to back away, enough for his brain to obstruct what would otherwise be normal thinking.

Ranma couldn't run, his feet were firmly planted, huddled on the roots of the brush he managed to back himself into. He couldn't jump for he was immobile, he couldn't scream -- for it would bring him shame, and if he did so -- Kodachi wouldn't let him hear the end of it. He could just stare at Kodachi, hoping Kodachi would send the cat away.

Then, with whatever mercies the Gods were willing to give to him that day, he didn't trigger the Neko-ken, and his mind succumbed to oblivion.

-

Akane looked at the kitten then at the girl wondering what brought about Ranko's orders. When Ranko fainted, she was both surprised and panicked, for she didn't know what she would do. She didn't even know what was happening, much less come up some way to resolve it. Thankfully, Omokage appeared just as suddenly with a bowl of water on his hands. As he approached her he gave her a questioning look.

Finally, Akane sighed as she gave the small cat to the samurai with some instructions to feed it and turn it over to someone who cared before she turned her attentions to Ranko.

"Is there any help I can offer?" Omokage asked as he held the kitten and the bowl of water, when Akane waved him away. The samurai nodded in submission and left her to do what he was instructed to do.

"The cat's gone now, Ranko." When there was no response from the girl, Akane waved her hands in front of her several times, finally she pinched the dazed girl by her shoulder. "RANKO!"

She didn't respond Akane looked at the girl closely and realized the problem -- she fainted. Pulling up the sleeves of the long kimono, she dragged Ranko to the beach where she cupped some water and splashed it over her face.

Finally coming to her senses the girl slapped the offending hand away, and spluttered at the water that was suddenly thrown at her. "What did you do that for?"

"Well... you fazed out!" Akane answered in a matter of fact way as she sat on one of the bigger stones on the beach, it was mid-afternoon and the breeze was as refreshing as the lull of the waves, although the sand was scorching. Dusting herself, Ranko stood up as Akane lectured, "What did you want me to do, drag you back to Rose Brier?"

"There are some samurai over there you know," Ranko retorted, thumbing some trees a distance away, Akane squinted against the sunlight and looked at the spot hard. True enough, some samurai were watching them complacently. "You could've asked them for help."

"I did the first thing I could think of okay!" Akane muttered in disgust. There was an option of asking help from Omokage, but she didn't tell Ranko that. "Besides, I told someone to keep the cat away from you. You owe me one."

There was a smile on Akane's lips, Ranko frowned, no matter what angle you saw the argument in, Akane was right. Ranko wouldn't -- couldn't deny it, it would too much a breach of honor to do so. Still Ranko shrugged then stood up, fear-induced palsy wearing off. "I thank you for doing what the master bids us all to do."

"Still... I think it's more of your reasons than the master's, don't you think?" Akane retorted as she put down her hand on Ranko's shoulder, her message was clear. "You still owe me."

"A favor?" Ranko took Akane's hand off and looked at her wearily. "Please, spare me, Kodachi, I really don't like giving you any favors."

"Even if you owed me?" Feudal Japan has its advantages. Their honor was one thing, their debts another. Someone told her before that Ranko did not like owing debts and that her sense of honor was deeply instilled. 'Feudal Japan was sooo... old-fashioned.'

Ranko cursed again then sat down in the sand as if nothing happened, ignoring the heat. She turned to Akane in a conversational manner and said her words in a way that didn't make it sound like a death sentence, "What grand torture befits someone who owes the Lady Kodachi? Seppuku perhaps? Or maybe just kill me off? I could think of more gruesome things to do at the moment, but thinking of a ways to kill myself is not one of my better habits."

"I just want three things." There really wasn't much to ask. She has everything in the palm of her hands, now all she needed to do was use them. Ranko was the perfect person to ask, and a cancellation of debt the perfect way to do it.

There was a guarded look on Ranko's eyes and she weighed the girl before her, and dismissed the things she was going to ask for as trivial even before she heard it. Then she intoned in the most formal manner she knew of intoned, "How may I be of service to my Lady Kodachi Saotome of the House of Kuno?"

"I don't want you in my husband's bedroom at night." Akane reasoned it was for the best, her husband would sleep earlier, and the whole household would sleep earlier and a lot less grumpy people. It was on no account of jealousy on her part, she thought, after all it was for the good of the household. "If possible I don't want you wearing his clothes."

Thinking about it, Ranko made a face clearly showing her dislike in the matter, but she couldn't and wouldn't refuse it. 'It isn't such a hard bargain as one that Kodachi might usually drive... and Kodachi usually tired easily of her games.' Ranko mulled over the thoughts then smiled graciously, 'Ranko will play your game for a while, Kodachi' "Where would I sleep and what would I wear, then? Surely you have some idea."

"I don't really care. As long as it's not my husband's." She waved her hand in dismissal, there wasn't any way Ranko could go around this agreement. There was no way Ranko would go against her precious code of honor. Just as any self-respecting samurai wouldn't.

"Agreed. I don't really have a room and I don't really have clothes. I would then wear your kimonos for the duration and would sleep in your room. After all you don't really care."

-

Inwardly, Ranma-chan congratulated herself on the brilliant idea. It was obvious that Kodachi was less than happy with how everything turned out. Ranma managed to turn what initially seemed to be a punishment for her into a punishment to both of them. 'Hell, I'm not suffering by myself.'

Seething, Kodachi glared at the redhead. She would not weasel out of the next one easily. "Also I want you to tell me about Ranma's childhood."

Of all the things Kodachi could've asked for, this one surprised Ranma-chan the most. Ranma-chan stopped to think about the issue then decided that it was inconsequential. Things like the past caught up easily, she couldn't hide it forever. And though she made sure that her household weren't gossipmongers, she knew Kodachi would hear of it one way or the other. "Now?"

"Yes, please," she answered sitting close to Ranma-chan to hear her story, she might hate Ranma-chan for being the consort, but she has no qualms about becoming friends.

Ranma shifted uncomfortably at her nearness, the past was something he did not readily visit. He thought it was best forgotten... it was useless to live in yesterday when the burden of today and tomorrow was heavily laden on your shoulders. "I'm only telling this because it's my duty and that I owe you. But it doesn't mean I trust you."

There was a pause as Kodachi weighed the words, but she held Ranma's gaze when she answered, "I never expected any more."

Ranma wondered where to begin as he wove a highly edited tale. "There isn't really much to tell about Ranma's childhood." In fact, he didn't feel that he and his sister have much of a childhood at all. Times of war brought that about and … a conversation, an hour wouldn't even begin to describe their childhood.

"He lived like every samurai in the Saotome clan has. The twins were raised together, and against convention have a single foster parent." Ranma frowned as he remembered the man. "Their foster father was Saotome Genma. A man was their foster father because well, he managed to infuriate Happosai. Don't ask me how. Men are never foster parents (4). He was an exception. The twins always were the exception."

He drew on the sand with his fingers a remnant of a battle plan long ago. The sand was hot to the touch. They held many memories, and a lot of pain went with them. "Nabiki and Ranma won their first battle at the age ten. Because of this, Happosai sent them to China to learn under the Imperial Palace when they were twelve..."

The Imperial Palace. It seemed so long buried in the past... and so much like the memories of yesterday...

---------------------

Ranma-chan was irritated and wet. Through their newly acquired forms, Nabiki obviously gained strength, but she still managed to let him carry all her load. She reasoned out that since they were indeed the same strength now, but her speed was decreased and Ranma's increased, an excess load would hamper her pace.

Their speed was essential in the chase that was presently happening.

Their currently panda of a foster father was running along with them... the guide puffing along. "Where the hell is the Imperial Palace anyway?" Ranma grunted hefting the two packs along while trying unsuccessfully to bring them in a nice enough position while running.

"I think it's that towering thing over there," Nabiki-kun quipped looking the impressionable building over. It wasn't hard to miss. It was the largest thing in the city.

Ranma grumbled. It was perplexing to see him walk beside himself... currently herself. In his opinion, no one should be subjected to such things. It was weird that their foster father turned into a panda and Nabiki turned into -- a mirror image of himself. What he thought unusual in the situation was that even though they were twins, Ranma certainly didn't turn to her.

"I'll get to the palace first, you guys watch my back! You shouldn't have much of a trouble. She's after me!" Ranma shouted. When Nabiki-kun nodded Ranma threw her both of the packs, which she gracefully caught. Ranma noted that Nabiki was indeed slowed down by the extra weight.

Turning towards the palace and jumping towards the roofs, Ranma began to put on speed. Amazons, he was starting to realize, were very, very persistent. The Amazon that was chasing them has been in pursuit for seven days!

As she prepared for another jump, he wondered if the palace guards were going to give him any trouble. He wasn't sure if they were expecting them. Happosai just sent them to China to go under the Imperial palace because every daimyo was supposed to send their best students there. However, he didn't care how they got there. There was no doubt that he didn't care if they were warmly accepted either.

As for Genma, he didn't mind the lack of transportation. Their foster father made them swim. Both were resigned -- if a bit reluctant to label that as a training experience. As Ranma ran towards the palace gates, he saw the guards close in to block his path, weapons rising threateningly.

Ranma cursed, his balance was too much off at the point to be in the fight with what seemed like two very able guards. "Outta my way!" he screamed as she ran through them, both moved to strike. Ranma cursed and jumped, vaulting over them, quickly opting for running and hiding, making a two-point landing on the palace walls. He jumped over the first set of gates and aimed for the sixth floor. Luckily, Chinese palaces were similar to Japanese ones. The layout would most probably be the same.

He broke through the window using one of the basic kicks and ran around, trying to familiarize himself. The guards would not reach him in at least a minute so he started to search for the main room. The questionable training in stealth his foster father gave him was now coming in handy. Finding a room larger than the rest, its entrance blocked by five guards he drew the conclusion that he has come across his destination.

Avoiding the guards he located a joint room and broke through the wall separating it and the central room, allowing her access. "I need help!" he shouted, at what seemed like an almost empty audience room... the emperor was seated in what looked like a throne to Ranma, obstructed by shadows. He hoped the emperor was an understanding sort.

Appearing out of the dark a girl wielding weapons quite similar to what the Shampoo girl used in the Amazon village put herself between Ranma and the emperor. "_Halt, you are in the presence of the Emperor, you may not walk any closer. You may not draw closer than one hundred paces._"

Letting out another curse, Ranma started to analyze the situation. In his true form, he looked his age... yet the girl-child body made him look two years younger. He doubted if this Chinese girl or the emperor would believe if she blurted out Happosai sent her. Although she hoped her apparent 'youth' would make the girl think about any sudden movements. "Talk slow! I can't understand much of Chinese! I'm... I need help... my sister, foster father and the Jusenkyo guide is being chased by an Amazon and I'm under the Kiss of Death... there's been this great misunderstanding and --"

Dodging her sudden attack, Ranma watched as a smile slowly crept its way onto the girl's face. "Yes, you quick, there no mistake, I am Amazon woman... my name... is Rian Pu... and I will take pride in killing you for my sister!"

Forced into battle, Ranma felt shocked as he dodged a blow and ducked under another, it was just like her luck to find an Amazon in the emperor's chambers. 'At least Nabiki and the others would be safe.' Shampoo's main target was Ranma-chan herself.

Back flipping she managed to avoid another attempt to crush her skull. She wasn't as lucky the next time as Rian, having been able to successfully plot her trajectory, threw one of her weapons and managed to clip her on her left shoulder. Her female body wasn't as tough as her male one and the damage that the heavy weapon inflicted upon her really hurt. Her flesh screamed in agony as a muscle in her arm was torn.

'At least the soldiers are simply watching the fight.' Ranma thought as he managed to get a glimpse of the spectators. All of them watched, but none dared to step in.

With only one fight since the curse, Ranma doubted his odds against winning a second match so early on. The only reason he won against the other girl was that the Amazon was fatigued, underestimated her, and a bit below her skill level... the only thing that would win her this fight would be a quick mind.

The girl -- Rian -- has every advantage over Ranma. Ranma deduced as she caught the cloth that was whipped towards him with his left hand. Had it connected, the silken belt would have gone for his throat. He pulled it out of his opponent's hands, and threw it to the side.

Watching the other girl, he counted his opponent's advantages. The Amazon was well rested, she has reach, she has weapons, she was on friendly ground and she was a bit skilled -- not more so than Ranma himself, though.

Landing a kick on Rian's hand, which made her throw her right hand weapon, he blocked a vicious kick to his chest and watched as the Amazon quickly shifted her other weapon towards her more able hand.

Seeing the opening immediately, he intercepted it with a kick of his own breaking the weapon's shaft as his foot connected with the hard wood. Smiling towards Rian, Ranma grabbed hold of the girl's shirt and made a throw at her hips sending his opponent flying through one of the walls. "Ahhh man, my sister could fight better than you!"

"Maybe because your sister is better than you!" The Amazon retorted smiling as she rolled to her feet while grabbing a knife that she was hiding in her hair and threw it at Ranma's direction. Ranma caught the knife in the air as it was just about to connect between his eyes. He threw it back, only to watch it get deflected by the new weapon the Amazon was now wielding.

As the knife clattered on the floor, Rian was already hefting the yari, a spear of about five meters used for defense, in her hands and coming at her in a rush. The weapon struck down where Ranma had been standing seconds earlier, missing him by an inch as he managed to get away by sliding towards where the ball-like weapon was.

Seeing his opponent twirl the yari around, Ranma moved for another strike. Pulling the heavy ball-like weapon off the floor, Ranma managed to throw it at Rian. The Amazon easily avoided getting hit by leaping into the air, this however was what Ranma wanted, as he, with a leap of his own, flipped over the other girl in midair and grabbed hold of her weapon.

Spinning around in the air he brought them down against the ground where Rian, still clutching her weapon, saw the knee that forced the air out of her lungs. Twisting around, Ranma brought the edge of the weapon into the ground after which he, with another twist, shifted his balance and brought his right foot on the side of Rian's head. The Amazon lost her grip on the spear but got up on her feet dazed but not beaten, only to find herself on the receiving end of a flurry of punches, which mostly connected to her head and abdomen. Finally, Rian crumpled in a heap, unconscious.

Ranma was about to lean over to check if the girl was still breathing, but stopped when the soldiers, wearing grim faces, gathered around the girl.

"Enough!" the emperor called out. "Who are you?"

"I am Saotome Ranma... sorry about this..." he smiled sheepishly as she bowed just as Genma instructed her to... with more deference than she did with Happosai -- which was to say not much.

"I thought Ranma was male?" he looked at Ranma thoroughly. When he remembered what the girl said, he nodded. "Ahhh... Jusenkyo then?"

When Ranma nodded, the Emperor laughed. "For a child, you certainly have spunk... you defeated my royal guard... bested the best Amazon in your generation and managed to best one from the village. It's a wonder you and your sister are still alive."

Ranma looked at him questioningly, but said nothing. Even he knew he shouldn't talk when not spoken directly to. "I doubt that you know the Amazon rules then?"

"Nah... I just know the one that keeps me moving!" Ranma said casually.

The emperor clapped his hands, a woman arrived, and he spoke to her briefly he nodded to Ranma-chan then turned. "If Happosai wasn't such a known figure out here... You and your companions shall be given a room in the lower donjon. Right now they will be admitted towards your quarters..."

"And young man?" he said before Ranma-chan turned to follow the girl. "You watch out, Amazons never let their husbands go."

"Husband?" He looked at the emperor puzzled as he bent over to the girl lying on the floor, trying to rouse her... that man was certainly funny...

---------------------

Of course, Ranma-chan didn't see the need to tell Kodachi everything that happened. She never said anything about being specific. Although Shampoo was hardly a secret, Rian was, and she meant to keep her that way.

"When they returned to Japan at the age sixteen, Ranma and jointly Nabiki were given twenty ri around Nerima ward. Ranma was married off to you at twenty-two around the same time as Nabiki. They were given Sagami as han which contains Nerima, as a wedding gift. Nabiki's dowry was-- I think we're well moving out of childhood and you know the rest."

"Thank you, Ranko. That was... insightful." Kodachi looked off into the horizon, stood up and walked towards the house, waving a little good bye towards her.

Ranma watched her go. He had never been so confused before. The damned woman was confusing him. She acted as if he was two different people and God knows that he knew that Jusenkyo didn't create a separate entity.

This has him seriously considering the amnesia, but not by much, reminded of how much Kodachi loved to manipulate. No -- it would take more than that to convince him of amnesia.

Now if he could convince his heart that.

She clasped the golden chain that hung around his neck. It wasn't visible through his shirt. The cross was a gift from the priests. Every baptized person was given the cross to wear, to distinctly mark them as Christians. He noticed Kodachi wasn't wearing hers lately.

Standing up, he began to look for Nabiki.

* * *

As Nabiki turned towards the windowsill to watch Ranma, she decided that he was definitely avoiding his wife. Although he normally did wake up before the crack of dawn, she was finding him doing it earlier and earlier. It was fine with her but the fact that everyone was to wake up even earlier because of him irked her a bit.

Aside from this he went to check on Nerima's boundaries quite often, he left early in the morning and returned late at night. Even Hanae and Sei were noticing that Ranma wasn't taking charge of their training recently having been handed over to the samurai or Nabiki for the past week.

Nabiki shrugged it off and thought it for the best. Ranma's tender feelings towards Kodachi should be eliminated as soon as the distance registered in his heart.

'At least I'm sure that absence certainly doesn't make the heart fonder.' Nabiki thought as she watched Ranma's fleeting figure in the dark horizon, along with several samurai.

She was fairly sure Ranma made up his mind to see Kodachi in every person he killed on those wanderings, remembering her every taunt, misdeed and betrayal. It was certainly easy to imagine Kodachi trying to kill him. She tried once or twice.

Of course, she wasn't pleased by Ranma's sleeping arrangements. Ranma shouldn't be sleeping in Kodachi's room, and it didn't feel right. Even after he explained that he was in her debt. It was like Kodachi to do that --

It didn't help matters that she asked about their childhood. Those were the best and worst memories that she could've asked for. Nabiki closed her eyes, feeling a headache coming.

---------------------

She opened them to stare back at the cherry blossoms in the Imperial Palace. The blossoms were at its peak season and they looked beautiful falling softly onto the ground, carpeting the soft grass with the pink paper-thin flowers. Yet, she still felt homesick. Back home, the blossoms would have been just as beautiful too. Probably a cherry blossom viewing party Happosai was so fond off.

She felt a hand against her shoulder and looked up, it was her brother. 'Figures.' She thought staring back out the window. 'Only he would disturb me in such a time.'

He didn't talk, just stared out the window with her. They shared companionable silence for a while. Both of them watching the pink blossoms fall softly on the ground, a shower of petals. The cherry blossoms were one of the sights that reminded them of Japan.

"Hey, Nabiki," he said in a soft voice, "Do you miss mother?"

"When I hear the lark sing and I remember her voice, or when I see the swords she gave us to bring along, or the furoshiki that came along to wrap our swords in. I miss her those times." Nabiki inhaled the sweet scent of the blossoms then her eyes hardened. "The rest of the time I try to forget her."

Ranma nodded leaning out the window, perhaps it was best if they didn't keep memories of her to haunt them. It prevented them from doing so much more than they should be. But, she was still their mother and there were times they were allowed to think of her. He sighed the few moments of peace they shared alone were rare, and sometimes they were just too exhausted. "I miss her too. I wish I could have gotten to know her better, before we left."

"How could we miss someone we hardly know?" she asked, more of herself than her brother. Nodoka was rarely with them and they were taken away from her just as soon as they were old enough to train. That wasn't very old in samurai standards, about the age when they could stand, with some basic training even before that. "Sometimes, I think it's Japan we miss most of all."

"Maybe, but Happosai won't let us come home." Ranma quipped, a soft wind blew, scattering more of the flowers in the breeze swirling them about in a beautiful pattern before letting them fall softly on the ground. "I think he intends us to stay here for the rest of our lives."

"Maybe." Nabiki frowned as she turned her back from the window and leaned softly on the banister, she untied her hair, the brown locks falling past her shoulder. "I think he wants us out of his way. We're of direct lineage to him, if ever the Saotome's decide that he's been head of the clan for far too long... you're the best candidate."

"We're only fifteen, Nabiki," Ranma reminded her, and fifteen was not old enough to be head of the clan, much less threaten an experienced ghoul such as Happosai. "No one will want children in his place."

"I wasn't saying they'll do it now," Nabiki muttered, she thought about it and it was the only reason why Happosai would detain them in China. But Ranma was wrong, they weren't children anymore, childhood was so much swifter in times of war. Their childhood was over years ago. Maybe they weren't old enough to rule, but they were certainly old enough to fight.

In a few months, their assigned time with the emperor would be over, they needed to be back at Saotome land when they turned sixteen to be in time for the accreditation, and their father needed them as his generals if not his warriors. They should be home instead of wasting their time in China doing nothing but learn martial arts techniques which they could well learn in the heat of battle.

Happosai knew enough of Ranma's skill to know that he could dissect any move in mere seconds, even Cologne conceded he was a genius in the battlefield. Though Ranma lost battles, he has never lost wars, and he has never ever been beaten so thoroughly that he couldn't find a way to challenge and win back. "I'm saying he's keeping us from everyone's sight so that nobody will get any ideas. So nobody will see how fast we both learn."

"If you say so," Ranma conceded. He learned long ago that in matters such as this, Nabiki was usually right. "I just want to go home."

Nabiki suddenly broke out into a smile and pinched him slightly in the shoulder. He spun around to glare at her while she teased lightly, "You just want to get rid of Xian Pu and Rian Pu!"

"You try having them follow you around!" Ranma answered rubbing his shoulders. Shampoo and Rian were both nice enough girls -- if they weren't trying to kill you. It was good that her brother was the one who fought them in the first place. She didn't know how well she would've fared if she was the one being hunted to the death. "I can't even get enough sleep."

"You haven't!" Nabiki gasped exaggeratedly her hand flying to her mouth, implying the less than honorable reasons for his lack of sleep. "Oh brother, if Lord Happosai hears of your conquests! Why... you would make him proud."

"What the--" Ranma said, he let the words sink in before he managed to put on an indignant look. "Hey! You know I'd never do something like that!"

"Men!" Nabiki smiled as she ran across the hall, brown hair flying about her, her brother in hot pursuit. "You think you know them, and suddenly they pop up with these surprises. Oh, Nabiki, when will you ever learn?"

She passed some servants who looked at them with confusion, mostly because they couldn't understand Japanese at all. She took the chase outside leaping out the three-story balcony. When she looked back, Ranma was still behind her.

"I'll get you for that!" Ranma shouted.

"If you catch me!" Nabiki let out a giggle as she jumped towards the trees, shaking the already falling blossoms even more. "You're certainly funny, Ranma, first you're trying to get away from them then you invite them to bed?"

"Excuse me!" Ranma shouted back dodging a low branch, then taking to the trees as well. He wasn't closing in on Nabiki, in this body with Ranma male, she was faster, but he wasn't lagging behind either. It was okay. She tired far more easily than he did. "You're the one who's in 'marriageable' age already."

"Not if you don't marry, brother!" Nabiki called gaily, taking a handful of cherry blossoms she threw it at her brother's approaching form. Ranma dodged them all, but it hindered his pace. One managed to hit him in the shoulder, and for flowers, they certainly stung. "I'm to be granted omiai after you find yourself a suitable wife!"

"You just want to get married!" Ranma bantered, snapping some branches from the trees, he threw one at her and she dodged sticking her tongue out at him, frowning he threw another, missing her for the second time.

Nabiki smiled at him, her hair obscuring some of her vision and reminding her why she didn't want to grow her hair longer or remove the strings which bound it. Currently it was running away with the wind.

"For someone who's supposed to be better than me, you've got a lousy aiiiiiimmmmm!" Nabiki shouted as she fell from the branch that she was standing on, her arms shooting out in an arc as she landed on her feet onto the ground below.

"Wasn't aiming at you," Ranma answered as he lowered himself with a nimble leap, Nabiki gave him a small smile. She couldn't quite guess why her brother managed to be graceful at martial arts but have this awful swagger when he simply walked.

"_Children!_" someone called behind them in Chinese... and was promptly ignored as the two engaged in a small fighting spree. "_Children!_"

Cologne sighed as she jumped over to them and landed a blow on each of their heads stopping the fight immediately. The siblings bowed to each other then looked at Cologne ruefully, hands seeking the back of their necks as both of them adopting identical sheepish looks.

"_What is the meaning of this?_" Cologne asked as she pointed to the rather disheveled looking trees and general chaos abound of what was supposed to be a peaceful garden.

Ranma and Nabiki winced as they looked at the Sakura tree which they managed to strip to a few flowers by jumping around and the occasional torn branch or two.

"_You're restricted to your rooms,_" Cologne said in an even tone. "_Relearn your meditative techniques, and I want both of you in my quarters to report to me what you have concluded from all of this! You will both remain in your cursed forms for the duration of one week. You will not spar, you will not read and you will not have any contact with any other person save myself and your direct superiors._"

They managed to look ashamed up to their rooms where they looked at each other, then spoke at the same time in hushed voices, "You know... we should try that again sometime."

---------------------

Nabiki smiled at the memory, turning away from the window and Ranma's retreating back. They truly did have an unnatural childhood. China was a part of their hearts for some time, but there was something to say about being in Japan. Japan was home.

Even though Japan was where Happosai has dominion over them and Japan was where Kodachi pulled them ruthlessly by their strings, Japan would always be their home more than anywhere else.

To keep their home, she must lookout for those who would keep them from it. 'Then, I would watch Kodachi for you, Ranma.' Nabiki thought as she left the windowsill.

As the days turned into weeks, Nabiki watched Kodachi from the shadows. Her first slip, her first fall, Nabiki would learn of those. And that would be reason enough to kill herself -- with that Ranma could finally kill Kodachi, he can finally kill her off.

* * *

"You're honestly sleeping in my room?" Akane deadpanned as she saw Ranko move a futon to the ugly room she called her own, for the simple fact that she has no other.

"I'm honor bound to sleep here." Ranko laid her futon down beside Akane's. She stretched and moved towards the closet picking one of Kodachi's sleeping kimonos. She donned it so quickly Akane was not even sure if she took off her initial clothes, had she not seen the pile of discarded clothing folded neatly in her hands.

That was the only thing that was exchanged between them, before Ranko slept in the comforts of the futon. Akane sighed once again wondering why she was in the past, in Kodachi's body. She couldn't have been such a bad person in her past life, right?

Her thoughts wandered over to her husband, who was currently avoiding her.

Apparently, so was everybody else in the house.

The children simply didn't talk to her and even if they did, she wasn't sure she wanted to, because they were so distant.

Nabiki, she never knew, she disappeared in and out of the house, as if she didn't exist, yet it was glaringly apparent she was actually living there. The ikebana arrangement on the takonama was always fresh, the house was distinctly clean, and the samurai wages and needs were looked after. Her touches lingered in the house, yet she wasn't seen. She was like the wind, you knew she was there, but you really couldn't see her, except for the soft touch in your face that makes certain of its presence.

Ranko was constantly missing, the consort of her husband she only saw at night and only when she wakened from her discreet motions through her rooms... and even that, rarely. The girl moved with such grace and yet a non-grace that puzzled her... a distinct tomboyish sluggishness in her movements, but something distinctly feminine as well.

She has all reasons to believe she dreamt the girl in her room except for the fact that Ranko did not clean up her futon after using it. Ifuku was the one who always moved it towards the alcove where they kept the futons. When she questioned Ifuku about it, she shrugged and said in a mild manner that reminded her of her sister. "It's my pleasure and honor to keep my master's bedding. It would be most improper if he -- she keep it herself. Even my lady Nabiki doesn't do it, and you don't. My Lady Ranko deserves the same respect."

"I don't think your lady Ranko deserves any," Akane huffed, jealousy rearing its ugly head, she kept the hussy away from her husband and she still managed to nag her. "She's nothing but a whore."

"Ladies don't use such language, my lady," Ifuku offered gently, brushing Kodachi's long locks, the furo was to be ready in some minutes. "It is though sufferance that you are given indulgences. My lord has already been too kind."

"He doesn't visit me when I'm sick and he's kind?" Akane wondered what hatred equated to. His sword flashed through her mind.

"It is not through affection that my Lord Ranma shows his benevolence towards my lady," Ifuku said, the brush running through her black hair gently. "It would please him greatly if you would treat Lady Ranko the same way you treat him."

"I don't see why I have to be anything but civil to Ranko." She twirled the little golden pins in her hands, a sign of discomfort. "It's not right for a wife to share her husband."

Ifuku didn't respond for a minute, and Akane wondered if she would let it go but she finally did. "But Lady Ranko has a right to share Lord Ranma. Consorts are what give pleasure to men, my lady. Wives put order to the house."

"I don't bring order to the house," Akane grumbled. "Why should she do what she's supposed to?"

There was a small sound that Akane suspected as withheld laughter. She must really sound silly to the maid's ears. She was acting like a spoiled child. "Maybe the lady should consider doing her duty then? Maybe it would make Lady Ranko's presence less disquieting."

Akane let the question go unanswered. She was thankful Ifuku didn't actually laugh out loud, she asked, "Um... does Ranma have any more consorts?"

"No, my lady. My lord hasn't been in a woman's arms for a long time." Ifuku smiled at Akane's surprise. "He wishes for an heir of his own blood but he desires it from his wife, not anybody else. If my lord doesn't produce an heir before he dies, he has granted that privilege to Sei-san."

"But I thought he was Nabiki's son!" Akane frowned. "Why not Hanae?"

"Women are not heirs... they are to be granted omiai(5), just like yourself, my lady." She counted one thousand. She wondered if they would finish up to two as they usually did before her head injury. "Lord Ranma adopted Sei when Lady Nabiki was banished from the Ikkasei clan. My lady Nabiki's being alive is a secret of the Saotome House."

"A secret? How so?"

"We really don't meddle with samurai business, my lady," Ifuku answered, she didn't know if she should be telling this, but it was her duty to make her mistress understand the rules... but she also has a greater duty to her lord to keep secrets... what to tell and what not to... the eternal game of the houses. "I don't know why my lady is to be kept here, but she is and all servants are ordered to confidentiality."

"My lady Kodachi's bath is ready," Sasuke called as he opened the shoji.

Ifuku nodded as she gathered what Akane would wear for the day following her master out to the bathhouse.

-

Ranma shivered as the cold water hit him -- the change washing over him... it wasn't really very obvious when they underwent the curse. There was nothing to indicate that they did, except the feeling of dampness and the obvious gender change. "I thought the water was hot?"

"Never mind that... the furo is warm anyway." She turned to scrub Ranma's back, when the small red head suddenly threw cold water to her as well, triggering her curse. Nabiki-kun frowned. "Such childish behavior."

"Want me to suffer alone?" Ranma-chan smiled. "Now scrub my back, please." Usually there were attendants who washed the samurai's backs, but because of their unique qualities regarding water, Ranma and Nabiki almost always bathed without attendants and together.

It wasn't anything new, when they were young and training on the road, they had no other choice, after all no one would do it for them. When they returned from China, they were ordered to keep the curses secret... and so they were confined to themselves again.

When Nabiki was married off, she found it a little bit harder to keep the curse to herself. But she managed to get the bath house vacant when she washed, which confused people to no end.

"If you weren't my brother, I swear I'd get revenge." Nabiki-kun said moving his arm towards Ranma's back. Usually the red-head used a small cloth around her waist where she was branded but ever since Nabiki found out about it, she stopped using it. Nabiki briefly wondered at how dense she had been. They were exposed to each other's bodies since they were children, but she never questioned the peculiar sash.

"If's the key word here!" Ranma pointed out, then lapsed into comfortable silence before he asked, "Hey, Nabiki... do you ever wonder why we have different cursed forms? You know... why I don't turn to you? But you turn to me?"

"Sometimes..." Nabiki smiled a little. Ranma almost never thought of such things, there were simply too much other things to think about, 'martial arts' in particular. "I believe it's because we looked similarly in our previous life, ne? After all, we're supposed to be twins and we bear little similarity towards each other, and that... you have to strain to see."

"You were the guy in our previous life?" Ranma asked as he crumpled his face, it was obvious that the red-head's imagination fell short in that department, even if the supplement of Nabiki's form was in front of her. "I really don't see it."

"Maybe we switched bodies!" Nabiki let out a little smile. "We received different bodies than we were supposed to! I was supposed to turn to Ranko while you were still like yourself?"

"You know... some ideas are so stupid... only intellectuals believe them," Ranma quipped, Nabiki smiled. She always liked Ranma's loose tongue and he could be quite witty when he put his mind into it. When he didn't, his foot often landed in his mouth rather than his mind.

"Sure, sure." Nabiki rolled her eyes. "And back in the Amazon village, you would be considered a 'learned' person, you know. Only a step below the Elders?"

Ranma shook his head still not willing to believe the idea. "It's a weird theory."

"Maybe I'm not your sister in your previous life. Maybe I was Kodachi's older sister, which is the reason why I like her so much." Nabiki made a face at his obvious dislike of his own suggestion.

"If that's true, then I'm in love with my wife and I actually believe in love." Ranma snickered as he listened to Nabiki.

"It was only a theory, or maybe the man who died in that spring looked like you and his twin died at the Nyannichuan." Nabiki shrugged. There was no telling what the explanation was. "Your turn to scrub my back."

He obliged to Nabiki's request. "So? Are you all right with this? Your Jusenkyou form, I mean."

"It's been so long, and you ask it only now?" Nabiki wondered at Ranma's ability to brood over matters that they've learned to live with for years. "It was our karma to fall in those springs. By falling to those springs, we became more able to serve our liege lord. It provides a new identity... Ranko's unrecorded background has given us advantage over some cases, and the ability to be in two places at once. I never actually regretted falling into that spring, Ranma. It gave me more of a way to protect you."

"It was a way to protect each other." There was a long pause. "Hey, Nabiki?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks, for everything." Ranma always turned sentimental on her abruptly.

Nabiki stopped what Ranma was doing and turned to face him, Ranma's gratitude was as rare as his apologies and even rarer than his smiles. "No, it's me who should be thanking you."

"We both thank each other then?" Ranma smiled.

It was then that Kodachi walked in on them... Kodachi blushed and started to turn around but stopped and crossed her arms. She was still wearing her night kimono. "What are you doing in here?"

Ranma-chan regarded the intrusion, unsure of how to answer the question. She turned to Nabiki just as Nabiki-kun smiled and said, "I don't really know... I think I'm making a baby... what do you think Ranko-san?"

Ranma looked up at the ceiling and twiddled his thumbs, thoroughly embarrassed at the obvious lie that Nabiki blatantly claimed, accomplishing what looked too much like a guilty flush. "Ah... um... I don't think that's the best answer Na-- Ra-- umm... I mean Lord Ranma."

"Fine! See if I care!" Kodachi stomped out of the room and closed the shoji with a bang.

There was some silence and Nabiki started laughing, Ranma looked at her with a frown. "Do you really wish to see me die so early Nabiki-chan?"

"Oh please, Ranma, spare me," Nabiki said under fits of laughter. "We both know that even on her best day Kodachi can't touch you... hell she can't even touch me! Serves you right for waking up this late."

Ranma rolled his eyes over his sister's obvious mirth in his discomfort. "Besides, you should be happy."

She frowned. "And why is that?"

Both of them have seriously thought about Kodachi's amnesia and conceded that she might not be faking the ailment. Neither of the two thought that her new attitude was better off than her attitude before. "She's obviously jealous of you. And only women who care are jealous."

"Why would she be jealous... I mean... I think she did see it as a joke... right? She can't be that dense! I mean 'Ranko' is our 'faraway' relative as you've stated... and there's no reason to be jealous... She acts as if she detests me. I mean I'm supposed to be my own legal consort, right?"

"Of course..." Nabiki drew out a long suffering smile. "Kodachi hates to share anything, haven't you noticed? I'm willing to bet she feels bitter she isn't Hanae's mother and resents the fact that Sei would be your heir."

Ranma winced at his statement. It was far too true for him to contradict. Resolving to talk to Kodachi, Ranma stood up to wash the soap off when he was playfully punched on the ribs by Nabiki. "Hey, you! You're not finished scrubbing my back!"

Okay... so he would talk to Kodachi after scrubbing Nabiki's back.

-

Ifuku winced as Akane dragged on to her room looking around frantically. She wished her mistress wasn't looking for something to break because a lot of things in her room were delicate.

"Define **'a long time'**, Ifuku!" Akane slowly enunciated with anger streaking her eyes.

Her mistress just received the worst possible answer from the Lady Nabiki at the worst possible time.

Sure, Ifuku knew that there wasn't really anything happening inside that room... after all they were siblings... and yes, Ifuku knew that the Lady Ranko was really Lord Ranma and the Lord Ranma she saw there was really the Lady Nabiki, but that particular knowledge wasn't helping her a bit in this situation. She doubted if the Lady Akane would truly believe Jusenkyo until she saw it. The Lady Nabiki and Lord Ranma would never actually submit to a show in front of the Lady Akane. "They were merely playing, my lady surely --"

"Oh, they were **playing **all right!" Akane continued to fume and walked around in circles. Ifuku wondered when her mistress would get dizzy.

"Surely you realize that Lord Ranma was only trying to tease my lady?" Ifuku tried her damnedest to calm Akane down. It simply wasn't working.

"Tease... tease... Tease... TEASE!" Despite of herself, Ifuku found herself imagining the girl's head growing larger, every time the word was repeated. "That sonofabitch isn't teasing me! He's down right rubbing my face by the fact that we actually haven't slept together in... How many years?"

"Four years, my lady," Ifuku answered promptly the time that Kodachi was moved at the opposite end of the house that Ranma remained.

"Four years! I keep Ranko out off his bed but he manages to do 'the deed' in the bathroom!" She paced around a little more, cracking her knuckles in the process. "I'm going to pulverize that... that... that..."

Ifuku flinched at the string of profanity that came out of her mistress' lips, she thought her mistress thought it was unimaginable for ladies to swear... unfortunately... along with her great change in attitude came her new love for expletives.

She was about to continue with her tirade when Lord Ranma -- still in her cursed form slammed the shoji open, with her hand on her towel. She regarded Ifuku for a moment but didn't dismiss her, then turned to her wife.

"Akane, will you stop bringing the whole house down!" Ranma-chan ordered, holding the towel firmly around herself. "I was not doing anything with Nabiki, all right! She's my sister for goodness sake."

Ifuku gulped a little wondering if her lord, in the condition she was in, realized what she just said. The curse was something they agreed to keep quiet about.

"I was not referring to Nabiki I was talking about Ranma. You're a girl." She paused for a moment, seemingly contemplating on something, "Unless of course... you like that kind of thing..."

Ranma-chan looked at her puzzled. Ifuku gave a little cough and motioned a little. Understanding dawned on Ranma and she gave a small strangled sound before she could muster enough of the righteous indignation to lecture Kodachi again. "What! No... no... no... You're getting this all wrong! Listen Kodachi and I'm not repeating this. I AM ONLY RANMA'S CONSORT BY NAME! Not dissimilar to your situation! We do not share a bed... we do not sleep in the same futon... we're never together... I like his clothes... so what, I like his room... so? I am his consort, I have the right to stay there... just as you do but have not done so in seven years. I give him his back scrub... he gives me mine... it is my pleasure to do so... he is my lord. I follow what he says. If you ask Ifuku she will confirm that Ranma only bathes with his sister or me."

Before she walked away, she turned back and shouted, "And no! I don't like that kind of thing! I have been celibate for nearly four years Kodachi, just as my lord. I could only wish I could say the same for you."

Ifuku tensed as she watched the lord leave, she wondered what the lady would think about the Lady Ranko having professed her abstinence, and perhaps she would not realize that the Lord Ranma is the same, ne? Then things wouldn't be so complicated.

Watching the Lady Akane grab a shoji to steady herself, she rushed to lend her support, but it was shrugged off, she was a proud woman.

Looking at Ifuku in the eyes Akane sighed. "She was telling the truth wasn't she?"

Ifuku nodded, of course... she wasn't about to tell her lady that her lord omitted some very vital facts... that the Lord Ranma and the Lady Ranko were one and the same, for instance.

* * *

A loud bang issued from the rooms to their left and Ranma grumbled putting on his red shirt, another day, another problem, he would've ignored the bang if it didn't persist. He sighed as he ran towards the general direction of the noise... his wife's room. Surprise, surprise.

He stood there leaning at the shoji watching her take down most of the black things and pulling black tatami off the floor, when she noticed him.

"Oh, Ranma... I was cleaning up the room a bit... it's a bit too gloomy here... and, I wanted it to be a little bit more cheerful," she said. Thinking of nothing else to say, she forcefully pulled out one of the shoji that promptly tripped her. It seemed like she wasn't used to taking the shoji down after all. In their home, Kasumi did that. In their apartment... there were no shoji. It came as little surprise she couldn't do so.

Surprisingly her husband caught her in an instant, she blushed as she righted herself with his help... she never encountered anyone so fast. He raised an eyebrow at this. "What? You react as if you've never touched me before."

Akane bit her lip as she gazed to his bluish gray eyes. They were clouded up, and looked royally pissed. "If I have I've actually forgotten."

Ranma nodded, it was good he decided not to do anything about it, he turned to leave but Akane stopped him with a question, "Do you know where Ranko is?"

He turned around to look at Akane and frowned. "Why?"

"I wanted to apologize to her... for telling her some pretty nasty stuff..." She offered a weak smile at her husband. She hoped he would understand and help her explain. "I'm really sorry... It just doesn't feel right to share my husband."

Ranma tapped his fingers against the shoji. "It isn't right to share my wife. More so... law allows me a consort my dear, several in fact. Law also demands I kill all of yours."

Akane scrunched up her face, stupid feudal Japan, here she was being nice and he comes up with pretty good excuses. Damn it, she had the right mind to tell him that she didn't care. "I'm sorry I didn't know any better. Please, Ranma. If it makes you feel better..." She winced at what she was going to say next, "You could sleep with her already... I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused... I'll tell her as soon as I find her."

"What brought this on?" Ranma looked incredulous. Apparently Kodachi didn't do this very often. Or maybe it was the fact that he didn't actually need her permission.

"I -- Ifuku explained everything... I'm sorry for acting childish, as your wife, I should tend to your needs... I've not been doing a lot of that. I just realized it. I want to ask for her help, how to run your household you know and how to act like a proper wife."

Ranma snorted. "Ranko wouldn't know how to do that... that's the reason she's the consort! The person you should be asking is Nabiki, and my sister isn't as forgiving as I am."

'FORGIVING! The lout has not even shown her a moment's compassion! -- Okay so Gosunkugi was an accident --' "I'll -- arrange to meet Lady Nabiki, then?"

"Whatever." He looked around the room noticing the changes. "What are you doing with the shoji Kodachi? It cost us a lot, ten samurai actually." She didn't know if he picked the dreadful thing so she offered it to him, she was met by a grimace. "Burn it if you want, I don't want it touching my room... not after ten good men's blood was spilled to get it."

She shuddered, all the more wanting the shoji out immediately... she wondered how her room should look...unfortunately she wasn't good at doing creative artsy stuff either, she hoped Ifuku would lend her a hand in decorating her room.

Briefly, she thought if she should've asked help for her room before she tore everything down...

Nahhh...

* * *

Ranma shook his head as he left the house towards the trees, 'Kodachi is too damn hard to understand.' He thought leaping for the next tree. He sighed as he took off towards the border. When was the last time he tree-hopped for the mere enjoyment of it and not to get away from his problems?

Far too long...

---------------------

...long?" Nabiki asked from beside the pond, her newly bought Chinese shirt hung loosely around her figure.

"Uh... would you mind repeating that Nabiki?" Ranma asked as he landed beside her, the pond looked far too inviting, and swimming was the last thing they should be doing now. "I didn't hear you."

"I said," Nabiki repeated throwing him some parcels of clothes. "What took you so long?"

"I had to get away from Rian Pu and Shampoo," Ranma answered, deftly catching the paper wrapped packages from the air. Recently, avoiding Rian and Shampoo have been troublesome. Cologne must have been stepping up their training too. After all, the old crone believed that their constant pestering would do well for the twin's training. "What? You want them along?"

Nabiki shook her head. "No, I just thought you might. Come on, Cologne rarely gives us our free time, you know. You're wasting time." She re-tied her recently grown hair. Ranma just looked at her, when they were younger she had refused to grow her hair past her chin. It took him by surprise that she changed her mind, Nabiki rarely did.

"Uh huh, and what do you suggest we do?" Ranma asked opening the small parcels and found some assortment of Chinese clothes identical to hers. He nodded, the kimonos and gis they have barely fit them anymore. Genma gave them money to buy some clothes, but Ranma was avoiding the Amazons the whole morning and was forced to ask Nabiki to shop for him. "If you remember, we don't do much of anything outside of martial arts for fun."

"Put those on, will you? I want to see how you look in them." Nabiki smiled, at thirteen they were still of the same height, she still could pick out his clothes from the market for him without using the Jusenkyo curse.

"I'm sure it'll be perfect, Nabiki," Ranma reassured her as he closed the packages and placed them in the crook of his arm. Nabiki just gave a little pout of disappointment. "As always."

"Well... it is our birthday..." Nabiki's eyes twinkled as she gazed at the trees. "Come on, let's go tree hopping and terrorize the countryside for a bit. I'm sure we'll think of something better to do."

"Yeah, sure." Ranma rolled his eyes, and then threw her a small box. "Here catch!"

Nabiki caught it between her hands and opened the small wooden box in delight. "Oh, you shouldn't have!" she protested putting the two ivory trinkets amidst wood shavings from the box on her hand. Both were hand-carved. It was actually clever of him to put the wood flakes there because it protected the ivory.

"I know." Ranma smirked as he moved closer to see her reaction. "But I couldn't resist. Some old guy gave me an inch of ivory 'cuz I did something or the other. Happy Birthday, Nabiki."

"They look wonderful... thank you." Nabiki admired the small earrings on her hands. If you looked at it on one side, it looked like a small curled up dragon. If you looked at it on the other, it was an exquisite flower. "How did you manage to carve this? Oh, I wish I have a mirror."

"That's a secret." He smiled as she clasped it on. "Now that that's over, we can go and tree-hop if you like."

"Oh no, I've got something for you too." Taking a bag from her other things she handed it to him. "I know you disapprove of me making money from Rian and Shamps' affection of you, but how else do you think I'd manage enough money to buy things?"

"Still..." Ranma smiled as he opened the package and took out a beautiful three tiered lacquered bento box with a pair of matching lacquered chopsticks, both have the design of a dragon etched into them, his name was on the warabashi. "Thank you, Nabiki. It's beautiful."

"I know. Happy birthday to you, too," Nabiki answered knowingly as she fingered the earrings. "You always eat too much I say, and I saw this makie vendor just beside the Chinese silks and I couldn't resist." She said echoing his words. "It doesn't have gold in the design, so it's not that expensive, and I wish it was made off the deigo wood, back at home, but beggars can't be choosers..."

"Oh come on, you know I'm not choosy, Nabiki, even a simple note would've been fine," Ranma answered, re-wrapping the gift gently, makie needed to be kept out of winds and direct sunlight for it to last long... and they were going to go tree-hopping.

"It wouldn't have been fun," Nabiki answered as she pocketed the wooden box. "Come on, time's wasting."

"You're leaving your parcels here?"

"Please, Ranma, Chinese don't steal things in the middle of the forest!" She smiled as she took off to the trees. "Come on, I want to show you sunset over Jusenkyo valley, it's beautiful."

"I'd rather stay as far from the Bayankala Mountain range as possible," Ranma quipped. He was beside her in a moment. "It can't help us any and I hate what it reminds me of."

"Don't be such a baby, you remind me of Jusenkyo, you know." Nabiki laughed at his expression. "Oh come on, suffer with me for a while."

---------------------

Ranma sighed as he landed on another branch, his destination was not so far off now, and Nabiki was at home suffering through the mere presence of his wife. 'Yes, Nabiki, we'll suffer along, together.'

* * *

Nabiki leafed through the papers... it was a cookbook of sorts that she needed to deal with weekly, since the responsibility of Ranma's wife fell to her. She was happy with the job... of course, doing the menu was still one of the most detestable things, happy or not.

She flipped through the pages, with her brother, you could actually place the same boring food in front of him, and still he'd eat it, but she wanted variety in her food.

'What should I let them cook this week? Somen-coated shrimp(6), we don't have shrimp yet... Yosenabe(7)? Do we have mushrooms... some shitake probably, I'll look it up.' She copied the name and put a question-mark with it. 'First day is done... Second Day morning? I wonder if Ukyo will be gracious enough to serve us some Okonomiyaki when she picks up Hanae. Hmmm... better prepare some yakitori in case she's in a hurry.'

She flipped more pages as she thought of the second meal... 'Would Kisu No Sujime(8), be good? Ranma won't be home for the second meal after all... Vinegared Fish will suit Kodachi well enough.'

"Nabiki... could I talk to you for a minute?"

Not bothering to look up from what she was doing, Nabiki shrugged while she continued leafing through the menu in distaste. In the past, she had been unencumbered in the house, and Kodachi ignored her, something that she liked about their relationship immensely.

"Are we in good terms Nabiki?" her question was tentative, gauging Nabiki's answer.

Her back still against Kodachi, she placed the feather quill down. If Kodachi wasn't so dangerous in the kitchen she would have just given her the menu and escaped somewhere else. "I ignore you, you ignore me. That's how the world works around the house Kodachi. Let's hope you re-acquire that habit and I'm sure both of us would be happier."

Her anger rose a notch when Kodachi sat down beside her asking, "Can't we be friends?"

"I cannot be more than civil to you Kodachi." Nabiki snorted, she decided she would just put Kodachi's hated food on the menu, something which she called plebian once. 'What was it... Ahhh... Fish Simmered in Miso(9) Sauce... she hates red bean paste, she hates miso.' She added some side dishes and went on with her task, trying to pretend that her sister-in-law wasn't beside her.

"It's Akane," She whispered softly.

Nabiki almost broke her quill into two, the damned woman was trying to get to her nerves again. 'Calm down, breathe, breathe...' "A nice name Lady Kodachi... the color crimson suites your namesake. I would say it reminds me of blood."

"What's wrong Nabiki, you never call me lady... and..."

"My first daughter's name was Akane, lady. It honors me that you should choose that name for yourself." Although it was usually above her to take petty revenge over Kodachi, it wasn't above her to make the woman's life miserable once in a while. Since Kodachi made enough scenes to last them a lifetime and then left them alone at the dinner table, damaging the menu enough was good revenge. 'What was the thing Kodachi was allergic to again... ahh yes... kamboko(10)... I think Chawanmushi(11) would be good for first meal in the third day, I think I'll ask Yuka to add more kamboko than a measly eight.'

Though it was soft, Nabiki heard her gulp. "If you're at uncomfortable with it Nabiki... I could always change it."

She shrugged as she remembered that Kodachi particularly loathed lotus and added Age Renkon(12) to the dinner list of the third day. "I don't see the reason why my lady needs to change her chosen name, as I said I am honored."

Yuka passed by and Nabiki thought the cook would give more recipes she was holding over to Nabiki but she retreated, she probably heard the way she addressed Kodachi, she never called Kodachi 'lady' until she was mad. And Lady Nabiki Saotome was rarely angry.

There was a tentative pause. "I want to ask something from you Nabiki."

"My lady can ask anything from her humble servant." This time, Nabiki managed not to close her hand on the quill. 'She hates turnips because they're bland... what is a good recipe... ah irony is it? Kikka Kabu(13) will do for breakfast. She looked at the diagram of how to prepare and smiled... flowers... what a befitting meal.'

"I would like you to teach me... to be a good wife."

She heard Kodachi hold her breath. 'She's been married seven years and she wants me to give her pointers on being a good wife, **now**? What the hell is she thinking? Miso... are there more miso recipes? Kurume no Mosohuri(14)...'

After writing that down, she decided a full three days of Kodachi not eating anything prepared by the cooks was a good enough revenge and turned towards her. "If it's what my lady Kodachi wants, her humble servant shall oblige... is there anything else you would require from me... should I stop the menus today, or does my lady want her lessons now?"

Kodachi looked uneasily at the sheaf of papers on the low table. "What you're doing seems important and--"

"Oh no, no, no," Nabiki punctuated each word with a shake of the head... "I would always be happy to oblige my lady."

"Well -- would it be better if I knew more things of the house? It seems truly distasteful that I'm the wife and you and Ranko do all the work." She bit her lip, which Nabiki duly noted, Kodachi never bites her lips.

An idea came to Nabiki as she saw Kodachi steeple her hands in worry, it sounded ridiculous... but it was worth a try after all. "My lady wishes to know the Martial Arts of Wife in Good Graces?"

"Martial Arts of Wife in Good Graces?" Kodachi repeated.

Nabiki shrugged, reasoning out that if one school claimed Martial Arts Tea Ceremony there has to be a martial art for almost everything. Of course, Kodachi was exceptionally smart when it came to things like Nabiki conning her, but even a bluff was good enough to get Kodachi distracted... even though no one in their right minds should actually believe that there's such a thing as --

"Sure, I'll try it," Kodachi offered her a warm smile.

'That knock on her head loosened the few remaining screws too.' Nabiki almost stopped herself from laughing, this was too hilarious. 'She's so dense...' "Yes. I have a few things I need to do this month, Ranma is making me look up a few things, but my schedule will be loose next month. We could start then"

Only when Kodachi fully disappeared from her sight did finally let out a smile. She would find out if Kodachi was faking her amnesia, even if it meant suffering through the long hours with her and trying to show Kodachi things she already knew. And Kodachi hated to be taught something which she already excelled in.

* * *

**Footnotes:**

(1) What is the Tokkai road? Well it's the road connecting Tokyo and  
Hakone. And since I don't exactly **have** a map of Japan with me,  
it's the road that connects to Nerima too.

(2) **Before** someone righteously lectures me about Japanese history  
and tells me that Edo was given to Tokugawa as a fief and all  
that, please, let me tell you, I spent my whole second year high  
school in Japanese history. If something doesn't connect with  
Japanese history it's because I'm re-writing it :).

(3) Omokage: Image

(4) Genma as a foster parent? I ask you this, if I made him their  
**real** father, would he actually have time to train his kids? As  
for him being a guy... well... read on.

(5) Omiai: arranged marriage. (Isn't it great to have a dictionary?)

(6) Somen: is a kind of buckwheat noodle. They add salted water to the  
wheat flour and knead it, then coat it with vegetable oil. It's  
stretched thin, and dried by sunshine. It turns out as a kind of  
bleached white color, but the vegetable oil coating is about the  
only real difference between soumen and ramen. As a general rule  
of thumb, any food ending in "-men" is likely to be a  
noodle dish of some sort.

(Thanks to LarryF)

(7) Yosenabe: It's sorta soup with this clear white noodles called  
'sotanghon' o wait... what's the English of that... I can't  
remember. If you cook tinola with sotanghon (and actually know  
what tinola is) you'll know what it looks like.

(8) Kisu No Sujime: Vinegared Fish

(9) miso: bean paste

(10) kamboko: boiled fish cake

(11) chawanmushi: Steamed Egg Custard

(12) Age Renkon: Field Lotus Roots

(13) Kikka Kabu: Flowered Turnips

(14) Kurume no Mosohuri: Eggplant Miso Soup

* * *

**Special Thanks to:  
**MJ, Maurice Phillip, Tony Loco, Tin and Angel, Jourdan Bickham, Jose Aragao, Byooki Desu, Anno Nimus, C. Jones, Richard Robinson, David Bateson, David Stanley, Jitou, King Chan, Lawrence Chu, Bert Miller, The Dragonbard, Darthcwader1, Erin, Outlawone1

And to the person reading this.

I hope I didn't miss anybody...

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Ranma 1/2 and the book I based it from is When there is Hope, and if you sue me you can't possibly get money from me.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

I'm not particularly happy with the way Akane got Ranko with the debt. Any suggestions as to how she's going to extract a debt of honor will be most appreciated. (Even if it's so late that I have to redo the entire story again... really)

This was actually my favorite story before... I have no idea why, but anyway I've revised it and thought that it needed more Akane-Ranma interaction. Byookie-desu and I also fixed a couple of fighting scenes in this piece and made it better. After this we're going to leave Ranma and Akane alone for a while to take a peek at the other people in this story. :)

iCe

* * *

**website: **ice _dot _esmartdesign _dot _com  
**email**: siuane _at_ gmail _dot_ com  
**livejournal**: ice _underscore_ of _underscore _dreams

I can't believe that formatting in ff.n completely changed in the past few years. THey are now content to give me headaches and heartache whenever I upload stories.

* * *

We sometimes tend to forget that criticsm is better than praise, when we criticize we say that the other person has the ability to accept our words and take it as a challenge to become better because of this.  
my teacher (hehehe)

* * *

I write when the spirit moves, and I make sure it moves every day.  
unknown


	9. Part 8 : June

**Revision:  
**04/02/06 : Common mistakes in the English Language

* * *

But the cynic, the sad and the fallen,  
Who has no strength for strife,  
The world's highway is cumbered today,  
They make up the sum of life.  
**Ella Wilcox**  
_Worthwhile_

_

* * *

_

**Rendezvous with Fate v.2**  
by iCe  
Chapter 8

_... You know, it doesn't look like it but all of them seemed to share something special back then, I wasn't sure how to fit in..._

_

* * *

_

Nabiki massaged her forehead while watching Yuka lay out the ingredients for Yosenabe. Taking aside Kodachi's penchant for putting potions in her food, she was an expert cook. So at first, Nabiki thought that a simple dish like Yosenabe would be an easy start to the day. However, the Kodachi of late proved to be unpredictable.

Nabiki waved at the low table. "I know you're a fairly skilled cook, but you haven't taken in to account the fact that samurai hardly get to eat their meals. There are too many things that come up in between. It is a wife's duty to see that her husband eats."

Usually, samurai wives rarely enter the kitchen, but Kodachi seemed enthusiastic to learn. If Kodachi forgot that tidbit of information Nabiki wasn't going to remind her. Humiliating Kodachi has always been her greatest reward.

"Your skill also depends on your mastery of the recipe. I'm sure you'll do fairly well. Cooking is something that you've enjoyed in the past. We'll get to all the special moves after I've seen you cook." Nabiki nodded as she looked at Kodachi's sweating form, for the third time Nabiki wondered what was making her uneasy. "Well?"

"Uh... I can only cook curry, Nabiki." Kodachi gulped at all the ingredients in front of her.

Nabiki frowned at the thought of walking Kodachi through the cooking part of 'Martial Arts of Good Graces'. Though she knew how to cook, she was admittedly not as good as Kodachi and her ability was not even near Ranma's own. "Don't you even know how to cook dashi(1)?" Nabiki demanded, her hands tapping the table.

"Soup stock? Well sure." Kodachi shrugged, "I just didn't know it was needed in Yosenabe."

She then proceeded to boil about six cups of water. Nabiki nodded in supervision. Kodachi took the konbu, (2) out of the wooden container and placed it with the boiling water. Nabiki's eyebrows twitched as she watched the konbu.

"What do you think you're doing?" Nabiki demanded fishing the kelp out of the pot with her long chopsticks and into its original container. "You didn't even wash the konbu!"

Kodachi winced but took the kelp and attempted to wash it with soap.

Nabiki wanted to tell her to wash the konbu with cold water, but it seemed futile to rescue the already soggy kelp. She hated to think what the **dried** kelp tasted like now.

The woman didn't bother notice how much she was adding in to her food and barely bothered to look exactly **what** she placed inside the container. 'Calm down, Nabiki, breathe. Don't bother, it's okay.' She watched as Akane took a handful of katsuobushi(3) , bonito flakes, and added it to the kelp.

"Please give me patience," Nabiki murmured as she relieved Kodachi of her present task and gave her a chopping board and a knife. It was something Nabiki was sure Kodachi would remember.

She would prove mistaken as she watched Kodachi chop the Chinese cabbage, the tofu and the onions all together, which wouldn't have been so bad -- if Kodachi knew how to handle a knife. Kodachi handled the knife like an axe leaving the vegetables irregularly cut while adding bits of the chopping board to the mixture.

"Kodachi, how could a woman named after a short sword not know how to handle a knife?" Nabiki asked dryly as she watched small bits of the food flying around.

Nabiki wished she could shout. She ended up doing almost everything when she was prepared to do absolutely nothing. "**This** is how you cook Yosenabe. Hand me the dashi."

Kodachi quickly complied, and Nabiki poured the whole four cups then covered the whole thing and looked at Kodachi, "Keep it under that for ten minutes then close the fire of the brazier."

"Sorry."

Nabiki looked at her with mixed feelings. "Look, so you forgot how to cook. It's obviously your amnesia again. Get over it. There are many things your amnesia is making you forget. At least you cooked a decent Yosenabe."

Kodachi nodded as she watched the pot, Nabiki went off to find her two pupils. She did not expect to cook Yosenabe for three sticks. She was due to teach her students strategy an hour ago.

Picking up her pace, Nabiki wondered if Kodachi would manage to bungle up that last piece of order. She resolved to let Yuka do the teaching when it came to cooking. Maybe they'll take up ikebana tomorrow. Surely the girl can't forget two arts.

Again, her mind wandered to Kodachi, 'I hope the food will be digestible by second meal.' She thought as she moved towards her pupil's rooms. 'I hope she manages to remember to take the food out in ten minutes. Maybe I should've just let her cook **rice**.'

She would be sorely disappointed.

When Kodachi asked for her help a month ago, she never imagined they'd end up eating sashimi(4) for lunch.

* * *

Meanwhile Kodachi... the real Kodachi was looking half-heartedly at her two escorts. If she had any illusions about the afterlife, it ended around the time that she was given her sentence. The afterlife was nothing but the eerie white walls and the holier-than-thou guards. 

There was no time. It was a convergence where all off history met into one point. She was in purgatory. Since she was pulled out from her body before her time, it was judged that she would to repent in this prison until her supposed end. According to her guardian, it was going to be a long wait.

Today, she sat in front of the scrying bowl. Her judges adding to her punishment by making her watch in detail her life through the woman that was living her body.

She seethed inwardly as she saw Ranma's face, touching it softly against the reflected waters. She truly loved her husband. It may have not been such a conventional love, but it was love... in the twisted abyss she called her mind.

Had she not loved him, she would not have put up with him for seven years, not play the game that was eating his soul away... because the moment Kodachi married him... she swore that no one could ever have him, and neither could she. It was this warped sense of love that made Kodachi Kuno insane to the eyes of most people and cruel to the hearts of others.

They were in a continuing game of pain. Ranma loved pain and suffering. He killed for Lord Happosai and will surely kill again. Surely he wanted what she was doing... he was not one to love the weak... and she set out to prove that **she** was not weak.

Of course this woman in her body was ruining all her hard work.

Her hands clasped around her neck wishing fully that this woman could feel her pain. It was obvious that she didn't after the first few tries. Although Kodachi didn't stop until she nearly fainted from the lack of oxygen. The woman closed eyes for a moment and when they re-opened, Kodachi saw Nabiki's face. Kodachi rubbed her temples. She didn't know who was more infuriating, Nabiki, or the parasite that was using her body.

"Her name is Akane."

Kodachi's eyes flew open, she was sure she was alone, her guardians leaving her, watching the scrying bowl was her task alone. "What?"

"I said, her name is Akane." The woman smiled a little, Kodachi noted that she was different from her usual guard. She talked to her, for one, and for another she was looking at the bowl with her. Her guards never looked at the golden bowl.

"What is it?" Kodachi was irked by the disturbance, but didn't mind. Missing one of Nabiki's scathing remarks wasn't something she would easily decline. "I thought I was supposed to watch her in peace."

"Oh, so a visit from me," she said, pointing to herself rather excessively. "The **only** person who has talked to you in, what -- five months -- is the worst thing you could have right now?"

Opening her mouth for an answer, Kodachi started to speak, but the woman smiled and interrupted her, "Or is the scrying bowl too good for your tastes. You wish to watch another woman live off your life, right?"

"I don't think --"

"Oh no, let me finish. It's sooo good to watch your life through another woman's eyes. All those years wasted. Years to live that are rightfully yours. So a visit from me is the worst you can have in this--" She waved around at the immaculately white room, her voice dripping with the sarcasm her exaggerated actions pointed at, "—solitary confinement of yours.

"And seeing that you are obviously soooooooooo happy, I should be going rather than offer you a chance to go and tell your lovely little husband that that hussy in your body isn't you, right?" She shrugged.

Kodachi closed her mouth as she thought about the woman's offer. "I guess my lord was wrong about you then. What a waste."

The lady spun around and briskly started to walk away but Kodachi called out to her again, "Wait, woman. You to jump to conclusions too easily. What are you implying? Your lord would not be pleased if his order wasn't carried out just because you thought I was a waste of your time."

The woman swiveled back to face Kodachi, not bothering to hide a pleased look on her face. "Good, I'm quite in a hurry, my schedule isn't manageable you know. I have lots of work to do and you are just one of them. My lord wishes to give you your life back."

"How? My body isn't..." Kodachi paused searching for the right words, "...available at the moment."

"True, but our dear Akane's is." The woman turned to the bowl, where she could see Akane looking over what looked like recipes. "I'm sure we could work something out."

"I thought her body was damaged." Kodachi frowned as she looked at her hands. The woman reminded her again of her state. It was eerie to remember that she wasn't a tangible being anymore, and yet she could still feel her own flesh. To her, the body she owned was as solid as the scrying bowl in front of her... to anyone else, she couldn't be touched... much less seen. "It's the whole reason why she was sent in my body."

"'Ye of little faith." The woman looked at her expectantly but merely smiled when Kodachi looked back blankly, and Kodachi was starting to tire of that smile that played across her face. "My lord can do a lot of things. Nothing is impossible with a god."

Kodachi looked at the woman dubiously. "Why are you offering me this?"

"My job is not to question, merely to obey." She bowed. "Why question such a wonderful gift Kodachi Saotome? You'll find, there are some things almost impossible to get in life. One of them is a second chance. Surely you realize that this grant isn't something given freely to most people."

"Yes... but at what price?" Kodachi murmured thoughtfully. "It may be more than what I am willing to pay."

"There are no strings attached, you could do whatever you want." The woman shrugged at her worries, as if it was trivial. "I said my time is very limited, will you accept my lord's offer Lady Saotome?"

* * *

Nabiki looked for a moment at the kimono she picked out for the day and put it on in the brisk manner as she did everything else in the house. It was early morning, and most probably, her brother was already awake in his girl form practicing a kata in the dojo. 

Ranma, by habit, was an early riser. The fact that the whole household needed to be up before him, deeply unnerved him. He hated the fact that the whole household needed to conform to his schedule. Which was why he almost always practiced his kata in girl form, letting the servants think that he was still asleep.

Still, Nabiki thought that telling the servants to get up early was much better than waiting hours for first meal, among other things. Her stomach was decidedly empty and one needed to break the fasting of the night.

Pulling fresh tabi(5) on her feet, she went to check on Sei first. She woke him gently with her prodding hand turning to do the same thing to Hanae when Sei started rubbing his eyes awake.

Upon waking up, both of them realized the tardiness of their rising because of **who** woke them. They immediately tried to work in alertness to substitute their yukatas for their sleeping kimonos, knowing full well that their first lesson began straight after breaking their fast. The earliness of the meal depended on Ukyo's arrival.

Seeing that task done, Nabiki opened the shoji to the kitchen. Yuka was already up and was cooking some soup and some rice. "Good Morning Lady Nabiki. Should I prepare something more? You've informed me that Ukyo-san will come by."

"Good morning, Yuka." Nabiki smiled genially in return as she watched the kitchen goings on. Contrary to what others outside Rose Brier think, Nabiki was familiar with all the servants that work under her. Her cold demeanor only applied to dealings outside the house. "No, this will be enough, Ukyo will prepare more."

Turning to go when she found nothing amiss, Nabiki checked on the servant's quarters. When she passed by, she found that all the servants were awake, which pleased her. An efficient household does not run on lazy hands. The next she checked were the samurai, and all were on their scheduled posts.

She was going to the next part of her morning routine when a samurai approached her to announce Ukyo's arrival. Nabiki nodded in dismissal and was about to look for Ranma, but dismissed it when she saw Ukyo in front of the house.

"Ukyo, how nice to see you," Nabiki greeted her, while Ukyo bowed according to Nabiki's rank. "How has life been treating you?"

"Well as any peasant might, Lady Nabiki. You?" Ukyo looked over Nabiki's shoulder, showing Nabiki her eagerness to see Hanae or Ranma. With Ukyo, the eagerness was probably more for Ranma rather than her charge. Nabiki frowned at the title since Ukyo and she had been good friends in the past. It was only recently that Ukyo acquired the irritating knack of calling her lady.

"Well as any samurai might, do come in." She waved to the entrance of the house, Ukyo's station did not allow her the use of palanquin or horse and the travel was always tiring to one who has been walking for miles. "Would you want something to drink?"

"No, thank you." Removing her geta, she wiped her feet with the small cloth she carried while looking around the doorway. "Is Lady Kodachi away?"

"Fortunately, the lady of the house is home for the moment," Nabiki said dryly, conveying to Ukyo her true feelings regarding the presence of the woman. "Although I hope her presence will not hamper you to provide us with first meal?"

"I always serve okonomiyaki when I'm here, lady. I would not have it any other way." Ukyo offered as she followed slightly behind Nabiki towards the kitchen.

"Well then, we will have a good first meal." Nabiki nodded as she turned to one of the samurai to escort Ukyo the rest of the way. Although the girl knew the way by heart, formality demanded that she be accompanied. "I will find my niece and lord for you."

"Actually lady, I came not to pick Hanae up... but to say goodbye." Ukyo looked at her feet her voice hesitating over the words.

Nabiki stopped in mid-step. The twins have known Ukyo ever since they were children. Beyond the titles, beyond the foster care, Ukyo was one of the most solid things in their lives. "Ukyo?"

"I don't think I can do this anymore, Lady Nabiki." She looked up, and Nabiki could see the glassy shine of tears in her eyes. "You know what Lord Ranma means to me, my lady, and I think I started to see things clearly in Happosai's donjon..."

Nabiki tried to restring the almost garbled words Ukyo was wailing out as soon as she spoke them. Nabiki was surprised, she didn't think Ukyo of all people, would let her brother go. Not Ukyo Kuonji. Ukyo continued, "Lady Nabiki, it struck me that I'm just torturing myself. I can't have him. Only a fool would make a peasant a samurai's wife."

"And we all know Genma was a fool," Nabiki pointed out, wondering if her words were alleviating the pain or was just adding to it. She hasn't been one to give comfort and at times when it was needed, she remained largely unsure of how to act.

"But even **he** didn't make me Lord Ranma's wife," Ukyo murmured, "Not even consort. I can't continue to be foster mother to Hanae. Not anymore. She reminds me of could haves and would haves, but also because I don't want her to think that I'm using her to get close to her father."

"Ukyo... nobody thinks that. Ranma chose you to be Hanae's foster mother. It is my pleasure that he chose such a dear and trusted friend." Nabiki smiled ruefully. "You've been her foster mother all her life. Surely you must realize that Hanae loves you deeply."

"She's a big girl now. I'm not even her official foster mother. I'm just a proxy to Ranko. I can't do it anymore, Nabiki. Please." Ukyo wiped her tears before they dropped. "You don't know how hard it is to try to stop falling in love with someone who you practically see every day. And I do... through his daughter."

"If that is your wish, then I'm not going to try to change your mind." Everything regarding the house was under Nabiki's mandate, therefore the foster mothers of the children fell under her responsibilities, but she couldn't help feel the need to tell her brother. Although matters like this do not concern him, Ukyo was one of their oldest friends. "You have to speak with Ranma. Should I tell him to look for you in the kitchen, or do you want some time to yourself?"

"I'll tell him after you eat, my lady," Ukyo responded.

Nabiki frowned, wanting to say more but stopped herself. "I have some more things I have to do, Ukyo, please let Omokage-san lead you to the kitchen." Ukyo nodded in acquiescence as the samurai who were following them silently stepped in front of her to do Nabiki's bidding.

* * *

Cologne walked to her great-granddaughter's room to find her already awake. Unlike the days when they have actively pursued Ranma, they did not have the Nekohanten anymore, so their stay in Japan would be shorter than the usual. 

The twins' abrupt departure was not to be taken well, so Cologne resolved to follow them. She already talked about her intent to leave with Happosai and taken leave from Lady Nodoka. Shampoo looked groggily at her, and she placed one of the Chinese dresses beside her great-granddaughter then spoke to her in Chinese, "_Xian Pu, take a bath and dress up quickly, we're leaving early._"

"_Leaving,_" Shampoo asked drowsily as she gathered her clothes to go to the furo. "_I thought we'd be staying a bit more._"

"_I'd rather not stay under the same roof as Happosai for too long,_" Cologne answered mildly. "_But we're not leaving __Japan__ yet. We have one more stop to go before we leave the country._"

Shampoo stood up to follow Cologne's orders while Cologne tended to the other things. Swiftly she packed the few clothes Shampoo decided to bring along. It didn't take long for her thoughts to wander towards Hanae.

'So, Rian has a daughter after all.' Cologne thought, while doing the mundane task. 'From what Ukyo tells us, Hanae is quite proficient in the art as well.'

Most of the remnants of the Fiancée Wars, as it was aptly termed by most who participated in it, were nearly gone. It seemed every single fiancée Ranma has, was already married, dead, ronin or nun. Except for Ukyo and Shampoo. They were always the most persistent. Had Shampoo lost to Ukyo, Cologne would have bowed out gracefully from the fight, taking her great-granddaughter with her.

Fate seemed to want another thing, and their leave was less than gracious. Kodachi Kuno was the last person Cologne had thought would snare Ranma Saotome. Just as that Ikkasei man was the last person she thought would get Nabiki. Both were less than adequate matches for the two.

Ukyo seemed like she would never marry, never get over Ranma. She clung too much to the past and embraced pain too much by accepting Ranma's offer as a foster mother. She took it hard. They were the best of friends and she expected that Ranma would choose her eventually. She was let down hard and hated him for a long time because of it.

Shampoo seemed too dead to the past. She flirted with Mousse when the moment provided for it but there was no reality for the show of affection. It was incomparable to what she felt for Ranma.

Ranma was angry with his wife, and Nabiki seemed to be angry with both Kodachi and Happosai.

Nabiki has her own share of trouble, has a million of fiancés. But in Japan, as Cologne found out, men were married off as soon as he wills and a woman as soon as she can. Nabiki couldn't marry when her brother was still unmarried. Happosai has plenty of descendants to marry off for political connections that he waited on his own sweet time to grant her omiai.

But Nabiki's hate for Happosai stemmed from the fact that she did not believe in him as head of a clan. Her hate for Kodachi ran much deeper.

Ranma, that boy she couldn't even dwell on, he was a problem all and by himself. Her memory quickly drifted to one of the first tests she set upon the twins.

---------------------

Kuh Lon watched Ranma and Nabiki as they fought against each other, their panda guardian off to the side chewing on bamboo shoots that they chopped off specifically for him. She signaled for a cut with the clap of her hands.

Both parted and bowed at each other, she smiled, they were the perfect students. "_You impress me._" She turned to Ranma addressing him in Mandarin, "_You have brains to match your brawns,_" then she turned to Nabiki, "_And you have skill to match your wit._"

Both of them said at the same time, preening under the compliments. She sensed that she'd have to dole out compliments slowly with them else their egos would grow too large for their heads.

"_Ahh... but there is something I still haven't seen you do,_" she said, as she signaled to one of the servants to come forward and give them each what she assigned them to read that morning. "_Read it to me._"

One look at the writing and Ranma gulped. "_I'm not very good with reading Chinese, matriarch._"

"_Read what you can, deshi._" She smiled. "_I'm surprised you managed to have good language skills with such an... intellectually challenged foster father._"

"_Actually..._" Ranma started, "_Nabiki forced me to do this. Honest! She managed to get every scroll and forced me to listen to her reading all those boring things. I can't believe I have a sister who likes all those dull stuff._"

"_Someone has to be smart enough, Ranma. Besides, I can't have my other half **dumb**, now could I?_" Nabiki smiled as she opened the scroll that was handed to her. "_The name that can be named is not the Eternal Name. The way that can be mapped is not the __Eternal Way_" Nabiki read fluently the beginning words of the Tao Te Ching.

"Show off," he whispered to her, which earned him a jab on the back.

Cologne clapped her hands. "_Good child! Your aptitude towards the language is excellent..._"

Ranma humphed as he raised the small nursery rhyme scribbled hastily by the Amazon matriarch. "It would actually help if Rian would keep to herself and Xian would stop paying visits! I know enough!"

That earned him a strike in the head with Cologne's cane. "_Speak Chinese boy! Happosai has ordered you to train under me! I was told you two were the best! I do not want to be disappointed! Besides it is quality and not quantity of what you know that counts._"

"_Well, I know enough of the basics and some of the advanced stuff. We already won a battle!_" Ranma protested to the matriarch.

"_Small battles are not wars, deshi._" She only smiled at his theatrics. "_You have only been under my care for two days! You do not know everything **boy**._"

"_Quality, not quantity of what you know is what counts._" Ranma smiled as Cologne realized he used her words against her.

"_As interesting as this conversation sounds, Rian must have her sparring sessions... go off to find the slacker._" The matriarch smiled. Ranma shuddered, she knew that sparring sessions with Rian flustered him. "_Not you, boy, you are staying with me to improve your reading skills. Nabiki will go to train with her, they are about parallel in skill._"

Both shrugged in unison as Nabiki departed, Ranma scratched his head. "_What I'd **really** like to know is why pops here trained us to speak Chinese but never taught us how to read._"

Cologne cracked a smile. "_Well it doesn't matter, boy. I'm teaching you how to read Chinese._"

---------------------

They were an energetic group. One that learned so much, so quickly.

What troubled her was that the only person who has actually someone to take after was Nabiki and Rian. She wondered when Ranma would produce an heir, his skill would be wasted if he did not produce offspring.

'At least Rian and Nabiki have produced fine children... Nothing to surpass their own skill...' Cologne thought finally as she closed their traveling bags. 'But at least someone **has** produced children.'

* * *

"What do you want to tell me, Ukyo?" Ranma smiled as they sat down in the teahouse, Nabiki following behind. Isolated from the main house, the teahouse was the most private of all rooms in all samurai homes. It was the reason why most of the confidential meetings were held there, and the reason why Nabiki wanted Ranma to meet Ukyo there. 

"Um... It's not really all that secret, Ranma. Taking me to the teahouse was not really necessary." Ukyo fidgeted under Ranma's questioning look, staring at her hands.

"I just wondered if you would like to partake in chanoyu," Ranma asked looking at Nabiki who suggested the whole affair.

Declining, Ukyo looked at him. "I'm no samurai, Ranma. I don't know the formal tea ceremony that much."

"I'm sure you'll do just fine," Ranma said trying to calm her, waiting patiently for the news she brought.

"I've been thinking, Ranma." Ukyo wanted it over as soon as possible, but she couldn't find the words to express herself. "I thought about the conversation we had when you picked Hanae up, and I realized that I was being a hypocrite."

Ranma did not understand where Ukyo's thoughts were leading to, so he didn't interrupt her, just giving a passing nod to show that he was listening. "Hanae becomes more like you every day, maybe not her looks, but her cocky smile, her movements... she's even taking to that sheepish look you once had when we were young. Don't get me wrong, I care for her as I would my own... but I can't take care of her anymore."

"Ukyo... I --"

"No, Ranma, let me finish. I was bringing it on to myself too, you know. I thought maybe because I have your daughter, maybe then, you could see me as I see you." Her hand brushed her cheek. "But I've been harboring an illusion. I am still your vassal, Lord Ranma, but I cannot be Hanae-san's foster mother any longer."

"Ukyo..." Ranma trailed off, not knowing what to say. He didn't know about Ukyo's growing discomfort of the idea, and her statement surprised him, as much as it did Nabiki. "If that's what you want, I can't deny you your freedom but... what will you do now?"

"Oh, I can still cook okonomiyaki. It's how I'll make a living." She shrugged she was still unsure of how to proceed after giving up Hanae. She didn't think about that at all. She never found any reason to. "Maybe go to my father. See how everything is doing."

"You will still visit, right Ukyo?" Nabiki asked from the side, giving an encouraging smile to the girl.

Ukyo returned the smile, if somewhat hesitantly. "Sure, Nabiki." Now that they were private, the formalities were dispensed. "I'd always want to drop by and see my favorite twins after all."

"And you're always welcome here, Ucchan," Ranma said, feeling good at calling her the nickname. Maybe now that she wasn't foster mother she'll let both of them call her by her old pet name.

The twins waited on how she would respond, and Ukyo took her time in doing so. "Sure, Ranchan, Biki-chan." There was an identical sigh of relief from the twins at hearing her response. "But before I go I want to ask a favor, Ranchan."

"Anything Ucchan."

Ranma was completely surprised by the kiss that followed. He desperately wished that all of his old fiancées would stop kissing him for 'old times sake'. Trouble always came afterward.

Ukyo broke off when Nabiki cleared her throat loudly. Both of them turned to her. She raised both of her eyebrows, her fan discreetly pointed towards the door. Ranma caught the distinct flash of a yellow kimono before their intruder disappeared from view. Both Ranma and Nabiki knew instantly who the person was even without seeing the face. There were only few who could approach the tea house with the samurai and even fewer who could wear a yellow kimono of that quality.

Ukyo sensed the distress her friend was experiencing and backed away. One could read Ranma's expressions easily, which is why the negotiations of the house usually fell on Nabiki.

Flashing out her fan, Nabiki covered her mouth with it, watching her brother's reaction and raising a questioning eyebrow at Ukyo.

"Go, Ranchan I think you and your wife need to talk more than we do." She gave him a reassuring smile, but he still hesitated. "Go. Nabiki will keep me company."

With that, Ranma leapt out of the door to find his wife. Ukyo watched him until she could no longer see his figure then turned to Nabiki. "How long has he been like that?"

"Like what?" Nabiki's slowed the movement of her fan weighing Ukyo's right to know of such things.

"You know, stepping around eggshells with Kodachi."

"Since forever." Nabiki sighed, Ranma and Kodachi's marriage has never been one she would call a peaceful one. It was never dull either, but it grated on the nerves. "But if what you're really asking is how long has he actually taken Kodachi's feelings in to consideration, that's a different question altogether."

"And?" Ukyo looked expectantly at one of her best friends. It has been so long since she talked to Nabiki as equals, as friends. After Hanae, their talk became limited, dwindling down to the off-handed hello when they met.

Nabiki stopped her fan and looked at Ukyo directly in the eyes. "Maybe since mother's birthday. Possibly sometime before that."

"What do you think?"

"It's what my brother thinks that is most vital to the situation at hand." Nabiki sighed then hid her fan in her obi. "Tell me, Ucchan, what made you give up on my brother?"

"I don't know," Ukyo said dejectedly, she looked at her hands. "Maybe it was because I realized that I could never make him happy, maybe it's because I know that I'm just one in a million girls..." She looked at Nabiki then smiled a bit, "**and** boys Genma chanced upon."

"I know the feeling." Nabiki offered her a weak smile.

"Of what?"

"Being unsure of yourself." She clapped her hands and Naoko, her personal maid, appeared serving them some tea. She backed away after the task was finished.

Ukyo didn't know how to respond to that. "You? Unsure of yourself? You're one of the most definite-minded person I know."

Giving her a small shake of her head, Nabiki looked out of the window. "Maybe when we were young. Now it's all an illusion, Ucchan. Best you remember we've all changed."

Ukyo was surprised at Nabiki, she has never come across such a girl. At twenty-nine, she was a cynic. Of course, Nabiki also has a very hard life. "What happened to you? To both of you? How did I miss such a change?"

"I don't really blame you. Sometimes when we try hard to believe something, what we perceive turns out what we want it to be and not the truth." Nabiki waved her hand at the still-open door where Ranma had fled just a moment before. "You wanted so much to believe the love he gave you was more than a friend..."

"My brother has been the focus of your attention, even since we were young. When we were six we stole your food, after that you turned all your resources to getting us killed. When we turned sixteen you decided that you would fall in love with Ranma, when we were twenty-two you hated him, at twenty-three you held grudging respect for him. Now at twenty-nine... you're falling in love with him again."

"You make it sound like you've analyzed the whole thing," Ukyo whispered embarrassed at the summary of her life and its accuracy. It **had** revolved too much on the twins. Far **too** much.

"I've had the time to study it." Nabiki stopped to get the tea from the maid and dismissed her. "You two are the closest people in the world to me."

It was one of those times that awkwardness settled thick on their conversation. Ukyo tried to continue the conversation, "Still, you pointed it out. I've had my whole life revolving around the two of you. How **could** I miss such a change?"

"Because you were not looking for it," Nabiki sipping some of the green tea that smelled faintly of Jasmine, said. "And because for thirteen years you have been trying to get Ranma to make you consort there simply wasn't any room to notice."

Looking at the tea uneasily, Ukyo shook her head. "Did I really waste my life, Nabiki?"

"You thought you were doing what was best for you. It's not the past we have to apologize for. We can do nothing about that, it's the present." Putting down her tea, Nabiki held Ukyo's hands in between hers, could offer reassure Ukyo about the future, but Nabiki always knew what to say even if it didn't come off as comfort. "You did what was best, you realized your mistake, and for that I admire you."

"Why?"

There was silence, Ukyo thought that Nabiki wasn't going to answer, but she finally did. "Because I still haven't resolved mine." Then as if nothing of importance was being said, Nabiki stood up, brushed her kimono and smiled. "I think this conversation is getting too sentimental, don't you think? Come on, Ukyo, let's walk by the beach."

* * *

After Akane's failure at cooking Yosenabe, everything went downhill with Nabiki's attempts to make her produce edible food. It was more than obvious that Nabiki was getting frustrated at the accumulation of the food wasted on each cooking attempt and annoyed at the fact that they had been eating raw food for the couple of days that Akane managed to get her hands at cooking. 

Still, Akane continued to try, and today was no exception. She skipped around gaily at the house, wondering what she would cook next, and decided that her husband should take that pick for her.

"Do you know where Ranma is, Ifuku?" Akane finally asked after circling the whole house twice and missing her husband. It has come to her attention that he could've left just as he did most of the days, but the samurai that traveled with him were still around.

"Lord Ranma seems to have visitors, my lady," Ifuku answered folding some of Akane's newly acquired kimonos. "I think it's Hanae-san's foster mother, Ukyo-san."

"Oh..." Akane's face fell a bit then she decided she'd just ask him what he'd like for dinner with his guest. Since he didn't seem to be around too much lately and she might miss him if she dawdled she wanted to ask him now rather than later. "Uh... where would they be?"

"They're not in the kitchen, or the garden perhaps," Ifuku suggested, not stopping from her chores.

"No... I can't find them anywhere in the vicinity." Akane frowned as she thought about the places she visited systematically. "No... Nowhere."

"Has my lady tried the tea house perhaps?" Ifuku suggested, it was known that Ranma took most of his meetings with his friends in the teahouse. Sometimes when he really wished to be private, they usually went boating in the bay.

"Oh... the tea house. Right." Akane turned towards the said structure after thanking Ifuku, only to be blocked by two other samurai.

"Lady Ko--"

"It's Akane," she reminded him patiently. Most of the household already used the name, but a stubborn few still forgot.

"Lady Akane... my lord Ranma has given explicit orders not to let anyone in the vicinity of the tea house," the guard insisted, his hand on his sword hilt.

Akane gave him one of her smiles. "Oh come on, I hardly see my husband. I just want to ask what he would like for dinner, so I can finally cook for him." She pushed insistently forward.

"But Lord Ranma has ordered --"

"I'm his wife," Akane stated, finally seeing the samurai wouldn't let her through. "I don't see what he could be talking about with Hanae's nanny that should be kept secret from his own wife."

The guard frowned for a moment then finally answered, "Well... I guess so. Lady Nabiki is also with them."

"There you go." Akane clapped her hands delighted. "You can open the shoji for me and I'll just peek. If he's not doing anything too important for his wife to ask what his dinner will be I'll just sorta ask over the shoji."

"Well..."

"Come on. I'll just be a while." Akane smiled again, and the guard finally relented, opening the shoji for her. Although he was conveniently concealed from people from the inside of the teahouse, he stayed by the door to guard her for her word.

Akane thanked him then turned to look at Ranma. It seemed like they were having this conversation, and a woman was crying. She looked at this scene and decided that she might not want to interfere in what she didn't understand, when the woman leaned closer to Ranma and kissed him.

Akane stepped away from the tea house, unsure of how she felt at first, not understanding the scene that just played out before her. The urge to call out to Ranma died on her lips ending up in a small whisper that Nabiki heard.

Slowly, Akane backed away from the small reunion, breaking into a run when she was away from the perimeter of the tea house, ignoring the samurai who allowed her to pass.

She looked around wildly, realizing that she was in the middle of an empty corridor with no one to run to for comfort. Bewilderment and confusion led its way to anger. "Why should I be the one running?" she asked out loud, and as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she felt relieved. She wasn't doing anything wrong.

By the time Ranma caught up to her, she was already composed, her irrational anger vented into the correct channels. "Let me explain," Ranma started.

"You don't need to explain to me, Ranma," Akane said irritably, not wanting another confrontation with her husband so soon after their last bout. "I am only your wife, after all."

"I know I don't need to, but I want to," the sincere words alleviated some of her anger enough to listen to his words.

"Don't you remember Ukyo?" Ranma asked slowly, trying to gauge her reaction. Akane couldn't show any recognition, because she simply had not met Ukyo before. "She was my former fiancée. One of my oldest friends. She is -- was Hanae's foster mother."

"So you spread your favor to Hanae's foster mother but you don't spare some affection for your own wife?" Akane asked softly, she inclined her head slightly. "I wish to rest for a bit, Ranma, could I be excused? You still have your visitor to tend to."

Not waiting for his words, Akane turned her back to him and walked towards her room. To her credit, she managed to close the door before driving her fist through one of the small tables.

-

Nabiki watched as her brother approached her with an angry frown plastered across his face. She sighed as she looked at Ukyo, who shrugged in turn.

"I take it his talk with Kodachi did not go as planned," Ukyo whispered to Nabiki, not wishing to draw Ranma's unnecessary hostile attention towards her. Although it was certain he would not harm her, she didn't particularly want to be the focus of his anger.

"It seems so." Then again, Ranma and Kodachi have never actually met eye to eye. "Ucchan, you were telling me a while ago that you wanted to talk to Hanae."

Taking her words as a casual dismissal, Ukyo bowed and set off towards the house to look for Hanae. She gave Ranma a cheery wave then disappeared towards the shoji doors.

"Ranma, what happened?" Nabiki asked in concern, as Ranma finally approached her. It didn't take Kodachi long to engage a fight with Ranma. "Is there something I could help you with?"

He shook his head remaining silent about the words spoken between Kodachi and him. Nabiki always thought that Kodachi could only be dealt with one way, so she brought up the solution to Ranma knowing that he would never think of it himself. "If Kodachi has become too much of a burden to you, I could always commit seppuku."

"No!" Ranma declared vehemently. The rules of the marriage tied Kodachi and Nabiki's lives irrevocably. Nabiki would die by Kuno sword if Kodachi died by a Saotome's hand and vice versa. "That wouldn't solve anything."

"On the contrary, my lord, it would free your hands to kill her," Nabiki said, lapsing to the honorifics as she usually did when her brother needed to be calm. Going over the soothing tones, it was eerie the way the timbre of her voice matched the waves of the bay when she did. "Would you care to walk with me?"

"Only if you walk beside me." Formality bade women, except consorts, to walk slightly behind men. Nabiki agreed and they continued to walk along the beach with each other in companionable silence. After a while, Ranma remembered something from his earlier conversation with his wife. "Tell me, where did Kodachi get the idea of Martial Arts of Wife in Good Graces? Yuka tells me she's been busy with it the entire week."

"It was my fault." If they weren't so serious, she would have let out a laugh. As it was, she merely walked the beach along with him. "She was so insistent that I teach her to be a good wife, I thought she'd back down after she heard such a formidable title. I was mistaken."

"Is she telling the truth?" Ranma asked, thinking about Kodachi a bit, Nabiki nodded then she looked up at her brother.

"Ranma... are you sure you would not take my offer of seppuku? It is the only way," Nabiki pleaded with him, both of them knew the terms of the marriage. Happosai ingrained it too much in them for them to actually forget.

The old man knew one thing for sure, Ranma would not kill his own sister or permit her to die before her time, which was probably well and after Kodachi was dead.

"Nabiki, don't make an already hard decision even harder. You're my sister. I will not trade your life for mine," Ranma answered her earnestly. He may be a fool, but he was a sweet one. Then again, was she not fool as well? She had countless opportunities to kill Kodachi by her own hand, and she never took the blade to kill her. She remembered Kodachi's worst crime upon her and almost frowned. It still rankled her to this time that the low class samurai could steal her sword.

She took pains to steal it back. It was handed down from generation to generation of Saotome women. Awarded to her when she had become able enough to use the sword at ten, she could not lose it.

"I'm only watching out for you, my lord. It is my duty and my honor to commit seppuku in order to free yourself from something as Kodachi." Nabiki sighed as she flipped her pig-tail aside. Once she was cursed, Happosai had ordered her hair be redone just as Ranma's. He also instructed her to eat the dragon's hair, while a similar command was issued out to Ranma.

"I will not have you killed. It is my duty to see you live, too, and my honor that you are still in my house." Ranma gave her one of his smiles, and Nabiki wished that it was a genuine one. "Besides, I refuse to live and face Happosai alone."

Nabiki almost smiled at his weak attempt of a joke. Maybe she should be thankful for Kodachi for having her bouts of temper and for being crazy. If not for her, perhaps, she would lose her brother, she would be having a life serving the Ikkasei clan, her son would be doomed to that close minded-clan Happosai sold her off to.

She learned long ago that it was not wise to trust easily. For the two of them to manage Sagami, both of them must work together. They have far too much enemies and too few friends. "To endure Kodachi, we must not let our guard down, but to survive Happosai we must not be divided." Nabiki answered in reply.

* * *

Ukyo looked at the house for the last time, her goodbyes to the family done. Maybe her father would see her home now. He could not possibly turn her out for twenty-three years of trying. She did her best. He couldn't possibly blame her for that. It has been so long since she's seen home. 

The restaurant could probably use her help. It was still part of Sagami, but far enough from Nerima and Rose Brier for Ranma to be seen there frequently. He probably visited it once every year. Just enough to see if the roads were paved, the roofs were in good condition and the samurai well trained. She clutched her heart dearly, she may have won battles for Ranma fighting beside him when they were younger, but they were virtually strangers now.

Maybe she could take up her aunt's offer for lodgings, at least until she could find some way to go to her father. Her home in the peasant's lane with all those restaurants was all that she's ever known. In seven years, Hanae had managed to imprint her memory in every crack.

Had it really been nearly seven years since Hanae had been a part of her life? Seven years of watching a daughter she coveted for her own. It was raining then, and he came drenched to her restaurant, it was a slow evening, the rain hampering anyone from wanting to eat out.

Ukyo looked up from wiping the small tables. She dismissed the help since she could manage alone when there were so few customers. The girl was grateful since it would be terrible to try to return home in the current weather. She thought she heard someone open the shoji, but there was no one standing in the small restaurant.

A cold hand clasped her shoulder eliciting her surprise. "Ucchan."

She breathed in to calm herself, only two people called her Ucchan, and only one of them has red hair when wet. She grimaced, the wedding still fresh in her mind. "Lord Ranma -- or should I say Lady Ranko, what brings you here?"

"Ucchan, please. I thought we talked this over already?" Ranma-chan sighed, hefting the small bundle in her arms, naming what angered her quite accurately. "It's been a whole year since I married Kodachi."

"My lord, what makes you think we haven't resolved the issue?" Ukyo answered curtly, moving on to the next table, frowning at the pools of water Ranma-chan left by dripping on the tatami. "I am merely trying to clean up."

"Because you don't call me Lord Ranma unless you're really mad at me," Ranma reasoned out. He almost reached out to touch her shoulder but Ukyo's glare stopped her from trying. "Ucchan..."

Ukyo looked at him sharply. "It does not befit my lord to refer to peasants in such a familiar manner. What is it Lord of the Sagami now, right? Total lord of the Sagami ever since you married Kodachi."

"Is that how you see this whole marriage, Ukyo?" He shivered lightly by the dampness of his clothes. Curiously, the white bundle in his arms was miraculously dry. "I didn't marry Kodachi for the Sagami."

"Oh? I know you've wanted to be Lord of Sagami ever since you were young. Happosai refused to give the Sagami because of the Kunos dominating the border by taking Rose Brier, and when you're twenty-two... just after you **swore** to me you wouldn't marry, you take off for some months and return **married** to lady Kodachi. **Lady** Kodachi who's dowry happens to be, my, my, Rose Brier. Do you expect me to **believe** in coincidence?" She didn't have much faith in that.

"I didn't marry her because of her dowry," Ranma murmured.

"Oh **yes**, I remember now, I know... you don't marry girls when they give you their dowry after all. You take it and run away. I wonder what makes Kodachi special." She moved to another table again, she knew it wasn't fair accusing him of something like the yattai, but life wasn't fair. "Was it her looks, or probably her roses, or maybe because she was good in bed. Which one is it?"

"I married her because Lord Happosai ordered it." There was a small cry, a small mewling which sounded like a wounded cat somewhere in the rain. Miraculously, Ranma didn't jump at the sound. "I admit I did care for her for sometime. Happosai made sure we knew each other before we were married. But all that's over right now. I don't really care much for the woman now."

"The only reason we're still living in the same house is that Lord Happosai desperately wants the Sagami in his side. It was to seal his deal with Lord Ieyasu. They're allies now because of it. Lord Happosai strongly believes that Lord Ieyasu will win the war. I think he's willing to give Edo to the man just to prove his faithfulness."

Everybody knew Lord Happosai prided the fishing village. It may look like that now, but he has large plans for the village, which will become center of the Kanto someday. "What's the reason you came here for Lord Ranma? I doubt it's to discuss your wedding arrangements."

"Actually, I came because of this." Ranma nudged the bundle towards Ukyo. "I wondered if... you know. You'd take care of her."

Ukyo looked curiously at the bundle, and when Ranma's words sunk in, she pulled away, not even seeing the girl. She gave him a resounding slap. "How dare you come in my restaurant and ask that of me? Do you wish to insult me so much as to make me foster mother of your **daughter**? I **may** be your former fiancée, but I am not your servant."

Ranma-chan permitted for the slap to connect, Ukyo knew that. Had she been unwilling to receive it, Ukyo would not have connected. She looked at Ukyo with imploring eyes tinged with sadness. "I'm not insulting you Ukyo. I'm sorry if you took it as that. And... she is not my wife's daughter. She is mine."

Ukyo looked at Ranma, shocked. She didn't know how to take that answer. This was Ranma, Ranma who has bound his very soul to bushido. Who saw everything in the Way of the Warrior... even matters regarding his wife. Would such a man disregard his wife?

Another thought occurred to her, could Ranma have borne the child? She shook the last thought away from her head, although she was angry with him, she knew him. He would never bed down with a man, even for an heir.

Maybe because he finally found the truth in Kodachi, he tried to find someone else. Maybe this girl was a mistake then. Then surely if Kodachi did not take Ranma's heart... she still has a chance.

"The offer still stands," Ranma said as he turned to leave.

Ukyo watched her go out, her body shielding the little girl, she was about to take to the roofs and Ukyo couldn't bear it any longer. She still loved the fool. "Wait!"

Ranma turned around.

"I'll be the girl's foster mother. If only because you were my friend once."

Ranma looked ridiculous in the rain, his body stooped to prevent his charge from getting wet. "I still think of you as one."

Ukyo didn't know how to respond to that. Up to now, Ukyo still didn't know what made her take up the offer. Maybe because instinctively, she knew Ranma told her the truth, maybe because she wanted to be closer to a part of Ranma... still... "What's her name?"

"Hanae. Saotome Hanae."

* * *

Nabiki massaged her temple as she watched Hanae and Sei loiter about when Ranma gave them an hour's break from his training while he attended to his other duties. 

Although Nabiki was happy that Ukyo was finally deciding what she wanted to do with her life, the decision couldn't have come at a worse or more abrupt time.

Most of the ladies fit to be Hanae's foster mother already have charges and some of them weren't prepared to be one yet. Most foster mothers have nine months to prepare for the coming of their chargers. In the small town surrounding Rose Brier, Nabiki feared there were none at all.

When Kodachi passed by the garden, stopping momentarily to watch the children in their mild banter Nabiki watched her. Although she never associated herself with the children, recently Kodachi found almost any excuse to pass by and watch them when she could.

Nabiki drummed her fingers against the wooden porch that overlooked the garden, Kodachi did nothing but take walks, run around the house, read and try out some basic katas recently. Whatever amusements she had before disappeared from her system, leaving her with large gaps in her schedule and allowing her the pleasure of the children.

She heeded Nabiki's warning to stay away though, and has no courage to approach them or face Nabiki's own wrath.

The entire situation provided a unique opportunity for Nabiki to watch Kodachi closely. Hanae was old enough not to need a foster mother, but one was needed for propriety's sake and Kodachi needed something to do if only for the sake of Nabiki's sanity.

When Kodachi noticed that Nabiki's eyes were on her she gave a pleasant smile, bowed and continued on her way. When she was out of sight Nabiki motioned for Hanae to come closer.

"Hanae, Ukyo can't be your foster mother anymore," Nabiki said, trying to break the news gently. Hanae wasn't the type to cry over losing someone but Nabiki didn't think she would know what to do if Hanae decided to loose a few tears.

"She told me, 'Nty Nabiki. She'll visit me though," Hanae answered solemnly.

"Do you think you could get along with Kodachi?" Nabiki asked lightly, trying to gauge the girl's reaction. Although it was going to be an unconventional set up, the Saotomes never did follow norms. As for Hanae's safety, she was never going to be alone with Kodachi. If Kodachi proved to be too dangerous, Hanae could also handle herself in a fight and a replacement could be drawn up by then. But more important, Hanae could be a good set of eyes.

There was uncertainty in the girl's eyes and when she spoke, she spoke slowly, trying to work her thoughts into words, "I've always seen her as daddy or you have. And... she's shown she can be cruel lots 'a times. But she seems different now... I guess I can try now."

"You will be in close watch with the samurai," Nabiki assured her niece, knowing that she was probably setting her up in one of the worst trials of her childhood. "If that woman does something, **anything** to harm you, tell me at once."

"Yes, auntie," Hanae whispered in acquiescence.

Nabiki gathered the small girl in her arms wondering if she was doing the right thing.

* * *

Akane walked the boundaries of the dojo, happy that she chanced upon it when it was empty. Usually, Ranma or his sister dominated the structure relegating her to the house. 

She wondered at her last argument with her so-called-husband. There wasn't much to tell, she was always quick to her temper, and Ranma was the person who always set it off.

Maybe it was because he still believed that she was Kodachi. From what Ifuku says, Kodachi and Ranma have the most unusual arguments which Kodachi got out of by using potions, all of which are carefully hidden in the house.

Sometimes she thought she couldn't take it anymore, it's been nearly half a year stay in Rose Brier. She hasn't gotten out, although admittedly she wasn't too social a person. She only has two best friends in school and tried desperately to keep her distance from boys. Rose Brier was isolated from the rest of the world for her to start now.

She didn't quite get why God chose her for this mission. Death was a commonplace occurrence in the world, and not all who die were actually thrown back into time. There has to be some ultimate reason for this.

She didn't quite believe that God just decided to play some infernal tic-tac-toe game and decide that she was to be sent back in time. She refused to believe it was on whim.

There were only two answers for why she was given someone else's life, either it wasn't her time, or... it wasn't Kodachi's time.

She took a small dagger from the piles of weapons she was examining in the dojo and moved towards the path that led to the beach. She stopped on the trail occasionally cutting a small flower and bringing it along, the white one with violet tips that reminded her of her husband for some reason.

'Was there some grander scheme between Kodachi and Ranma in the first place?' Akane thought taking in the sweet smell of the flower, 'Or am I deluding myself? Maybe I was just sent here to be punished.'

She probably would have been lost in her reverie, between the lulling of the waves, the sweet smelling flowers and the sand on her feet, had she not realized something.

Maybe it was the waves, or possibly her angels, but she distinctly heard the sound 'baby' whispered in the breeze. "My baby?" She asked aloud not really expecting an answer.

It was possible that the baby she lost was to be given back to her. It was possible by some quirk of fate this baby was actually needed for some reason, Dame Fortune played all the nasty games in the world, and humans were the least to expect it.

'Yes' Akane didn't know if she was dreaming or just having a conversation with herself, she probably just imagined the whole thing, but the distinct rasp of the waves made her unsure.

She crumpled her face. 'Oh great, I need to actually make a baby with my husband, and how does God propose to do that when my husband obviously hates my guts?' then she sighed, and turned back to the house to think. It was her fault, she asked the question, and she got a distinct answer.

Of course, it needn't be the answer she wanted.

* * *

Hanae found her father by the shoreline, drenched with sweat moving on through one of the more complex katas. Watching from a distance, Hanae didn't interrupt her father, he always did it perfectly and so easily that she always wanted to watch him. He made it seem as effortless as breathing. 

He stopped when he sensed her watching him, picking up a towel by the table he wiped the small trickle of perspiration running down his brow. "Hanae, are you aware of the situation with Ukyo?"

Hanae nodded.

"I'll ask Nabiki to see to a suitable replacement for her. Until then, 'Ranko' will be enough." He smiled at her as he rumpled her hair, she smiled back.

"I always want to stay with you, daddy," Hanae whispered, hugging him fiercely.

He kneeled so that he could look at her at eye level. "That's why I'm going to look after you."

"Then don't send me out again. I **will** stay with you," she pleaded with him. "You need me, daddy."

A little girl won't make his life any easier, but not really all that harder. He promised her mother. "You're better off with a **real** foster mother, Hanae. I'm not very good at being one. I'll visit you, just like with Ukyo. What's the difference?"

"You can't stay out of Rose Brier, daddy," Hanae whispered, clutching him tightly. "Don't you see? With all the activity you've been telling 'Nty Nabiki to leave the Sagami without its leader..."

"You talked to her?" Ranma asked, wondering why the girl was suddenly fidgeting pulling her from the hug. "What did she say?"

"'Nty said Kodachi'll be my new foster mother."

His stern gaze was enough to make Hanae realize that her father was not especially enamored to the idea of Kodachi caring for her. Kodachi had never much to do with children in the past and surely less in the present. "Yes, Nabiki told me."

"Are you mad, daddy?" Hanae asked crestfallen, as if the idea of the foster mother was her fault.

Ranma noted the suspicious shine in her eyes and rumpled her hair again. He couldn't be mad at her for Nabiki's decision. "No Hanae, I'm not. Just surprised that's all. Kodachi is hardly motherly material."

"But she knows gymnastics, she can teach me that. Plus she can swim, something you still can't teach me because of your problem. The rest **you** can teach me." Hanae looked up at him. "Daddy, she won't do anything at all, just watch me, and I'm a good little girl."

"And a handful," He said wryly, thinking of the stunts that the girl did most of the day.

"She's a handful too," Hanae protested. Mostly, she didn't need a foster mother. She was more disciplined than anybody Ranma knew. She got her maternal ministrations from Ukyo, Nabiki and occasionally Nodoka. The foster mother would only there for formality. "Besides, I'll find out if she's telling the truth or not."

"Kodachi is not someone you mess around with," Ranma reminded her thinking back on the madness Kodachi could very well do. She is not a rational variable. "She's not even close to sane."

"I'll handle it." She wiped her tears, confident of herself now that she gained her father's approval. "So do you want me to learn gymnastics, or swimming first?"

* * *

Hikaru Gosunkugi was in a miserable state. He was badly bruised and was lacking the skills to properly minister to his wounds. He took up some of the cloth to bandaged his gashes. It had been few weeks since they were inflicted and they still haven't healed. Admittedly, he was a slow healer, but Ranma Saotome knew how to severely pound a guy. 

It was already just plain luck for him that he was not mutilated. Had Kodachi not interfered, he would have lost his head. Had Happosai not ordered Ranma to stay, he would have been cut into pieces.

Pure Luck.

The gods must be smiling at him.

And Kodachi. 'What was the idea with her? It must be her husband, doing this to her. He was probably forcing his sweet Kodachi to bed again, that brute Saotome was mad. He didn't let Kodachi do anything that a woman should.'

Her husband was watching, that's why she didn't want to kiss. He stroked one of the multiple scars that he received from the encounter with Ranma. Saotome would pay dearly for his scars. Each and every one of them.

The door of the shoji opened. "Who's there?" he croaked, his mind going over the people who knew he was there. The eta village was not a place where even peasants tread and it was strongly avoided. He scratched his leg. His kimono was probably lice infested already.

But it was the only place he could stay that was surely safe from Ranma Saotome's clutches. Saotome was a samurai, and samurai tended to be loyal to fellow samurai, especially against a peasant.

He was not answered.

He stood to check who was there, when a hand stopped him from rising. "Oh, Hikaru, who did this to you?"

He turned around to face... someone who he didn't quite know.

* * *

"You want me to teach you **what**?" Akane exclaimed, frantic at the small child, trying to verify if she heard correctly. "I know little gymnastics and even less of swimming!" 

Hanae pouted twirling the makeshift ribbon in her hand. The crude ribbon was tied to a stick and from the looks of it, came from one of her hair decorations. "Come on Kodachi, you were good at it, daddy said you almost won against him."

That match had been some years before the marriage, and Kodachi had not been close to winning. Later, Ranma would learn that Kodachi usually cheated at these matches, and that she cheated a lot. She only withheld those tactics with 'Ranko' because she learned – or probably misunderstood her connection with Ranma.

"But... I **forgot**!" Akane said, anxiously thinking of a reason to deny the request. Was swimming like biking that once you learn you never forget? "I can't swim!"

"You can't forget a skill!" Hanae argued, determined to get what she wanted. "You can turn a bit slower, possibly lesser endurance, but a skill is never forgotten."

Akane sighed, just her luck that it was like biking. "I have amnesia! And what will we use for bathing suites?" She doubted if Speedo was actually around in the 1600's. Hell she doubted if **any** swimsuit was around in the 1600's.

"Bathing suites?" Hanae repeated, as she continued to rummage around Kodachi's things in the dojo. "Why wear something when bathing? It doesn't make sense."

"Well, we need that!" Akane argued, taking an equally large box and rustling around, not knowing what Hanae was looking for, but content just to do something. "What do you wear for swimming?"

"Nothing!" Hanae frowned as she thought about it then stopped searching in the box. She regarded Akane thoughtfully. "Should I wear something?"

"Yes!" For someone whose father didn't want to see her in shorts, she certainly seemed to have less feminine dignity than her.

"Do you wear something when you bathe?"

"No."

"And isn't swimming sort of like bathing?"

"Well ... yes."

"So what's the problem?" Hanae asked, quizzically scratching her head a bit. She couldn't understand why they needed to wear something that would hamper training.

"Because I want to be decent!"

To that Hanae desperately tried not to laugh out loud. "Were you born with clothes?"

"No."

"So, when you were born, you were not decent?"

"No! I was a baby and --"

"Certainly if God thought nudity was indecent then he would not have made us naked when we were born. Don't you hear the gospel when the priest says Mass, Kodachi-san? I believe it is in Genesis wherein Eve ate from the apple and realized their state of undress which made Him cast them off of paradise."

"I'm a Shinto! I'm not supposed to know these things," Akane whimpered at the onslaught of Hanae's lecture.

"My father was converted into Christianity from Shintoism 'cuz you were Christian, are you telling me you've lied all these years?" Hanae asked, accusation in her voice.

"No! What does this have to do with swimming anyway?" Akane asked, flustered at the things Hanae were trying to get out of her, she started to wonder if accepting her offer was a big mistake. "All I ask is why does swimsuits make you seem all angry?"

"'Coz the concept is stupid!" Hanae pointed out, frustrated. "First of all if you are trying to get away from someone, a swimsuit will pull the body in an opposite direction, second, the suit you are insisting on will get to the eyes making you virtually blind, third cloth absorbs water, it will become very difficult to swim at a fast rate because it's very heavy."

"We just need to cover up while we're learning!" Akane sighed, lugging the big box out of the way to talk to Hanae without it being in the middle. "I don't care what you do or don't wear afterwards."

"But it will drag us down!" Hanae argued. "There is no cloth that doesn't absorb water. If it drags me down I won't be able to breathe properly."

"Have I actually consented on teaching you how to swim, young lady?" Akane asked, putting her hands on her hips and trying to look stern.

"Well, no." Hanae gave her a cheery smile. "But you will. It's unfair to keep all your knowledge to yourself. That's being selfish."

Akane shook her head, she wondered if there was such a thing as insurance in 1600's. Probably not. She hoped that Ranma wouldn't go out for her blood when she accidentally drowns Hanae or something to that effect.

Holding her hand to her head, Akane could feel a migraine coming. And this was about her swimming only. Who knows what the gymnastics conversation would turn out?

Why couldn't she have just asked to teach her martial arts?

* * *

Nabiki watched with detachment as her two students finished their game of shogi. They still didn't come to a point where they could beat her, but their constant practice would do them good. 

"Sensei, why do we need to learn shogi?" Sei asked, as he cleaned up the board to go to the cases.

"Shogi is a game of tactics, combining the ability to follow instructions, your strategy and your problem solving," Nabiki's son was younger than Hanae a few months, and was starting to show his curious streak. Nabiki always tried to indulge them in their questions. "And to win a war, the leader must have a good head for tactics."

"Will we fight in the war?" Hanae asked as she covered the board with a piece of cloth then kept it in the alcove. "When did you start to fight?"

"You will, someday." Nabiki smiled as she took out another board game essential for their strategy. "We were about ten when we started on little battles."

"What is that?" The boy asked curiously at the new wooden set Nabiki turned out from the alcove.

Nabiki just smiled as she readied the pieces, it was one of the few remembrances she has of their lessons from China. This particular piece was from before the matriarch took over their lessons. "This, Sei, Hanae, is called Xiang-chi."

"Xiang-chi(6)?" Both of them repeated, as they saw the fine lines drawn across the board and the pieces Nabiki set carefully.

"Yes, it's the Chinese form of shogi and similar to it." Nabiki lectured as she wiped the last piece and placed it on the lines, "Well? I would be disappointed if you didn't notice at least one dissimilarity now."

"The game is played at the int'rsections!" Hanae pointed out gleefully, clapping her hands.

Smiling at her student, Nabiki nodded. "Yes, unlike shogi, which plays inside the squares, this one is at the intersections. Some pieces also may not cross the central river."

She pointed at the blue dividing line of the board, "After you learn Xiang-chi, the next game would probably be go, but I want you to learn this game well." Nabiki said putting the board between the two children. "It was not taught to us in China for nothing. I will leave you to set up the black side by yourselves and look at the board for a while, so you can try to see what are the similarities of this wooden game," She knocked on the board, then looked at the children. "And real life."

She stood up only to see Kodachi watching them from the shoji, she sighed imperceptibly. The woman has too much time in her hands. She led the woman to the garden before asking, "Yes, Kodachi, is there something I can help you with?"

"Uh... Nabiki, I didn't know who I'd turn to for this, but, ahh, I can't swim!" Kodachi looked like a three-year old caught handling the sword that he was ordered not to touch. "I barely know how to tread!"

Raising a perfect eyebrow up, Nabiki sighed, the woman simply wanted to get all of her troubles out of her mind, everyone knew perfectly well Kodachi was a capable swimmer. Swimming was an order Lord Happosai sent to all his samurai, even hatamoto(7).

"Kodachi, you are not passing off your work to me," Nabiki said coldly shifting her fan out in the open, "I have too much work to do."

"I wasn't implying that you take my work," Kodachi persisted. "I was just informing you that I can't swim."

Kodachi wasn't much of a useful woman, granted she was an excellently trained housewife -- when she managed to bring her skills out in the open, but the only plausible thing she could pass off to her wards at the moment were swimming and gymnastics. "Then what do you propose to teach your charge?"

"Martial Arts." Kodachi responded quickly. "It's the only thing I know how to do."

"You can't. They already have several teachers in the area. They are beginning to learn mid-level battoujutsu and some of the ninjitsu techniques Sasuke is willing to part. They are also beginning on their Kyudo(8) training." Nabiki turned to the dojo. "Teaching martial arts is reserved for the head of the Saotome family. I am fairly sure my students are about your level of fighting skill, maybe a bit below yours but you are not advanced enough to teach them."

This seemed to have enraged Kodachi, "Look here, Nabiki-**san**, I have been sensei to the Tendo school of martial arts since I graduated from collage. How dare you accuse me of--"

"And excuse me, Kodachi-**san**," mimicking the exact words Kodachi threw at her, "You haven't even touched, Chiu(9), much less Dai Gakho(10). In this house, the children are privately tutored while the peasants attend such schools. You have refused education, you cannot teach anything other than wifely ministrations that you were trained by your mother, which you have seemingly forgotten."

"How dare you belittle my skill!" Kodachi raved, enraged at the way Nabiki was treating her. "You haven't even seen me fight."

"I don't need to." Nabiki answered as she gave Kodachi an appraising look from head to foot. "Your feet are rough from running without the geta," she circled her a bit then pointed out, "You have lost your flexibility by stagnancy, although it seems you have been trying... unsuccessfully, I might add, to some strength training."

She pointed to Kodachi's hand. "Calluses in the knuckles of your fist suggest you have been breaking something recently... perhaps wood, which has much to say about your strength... which is to say, not much."

After that, Nabiki crossed her arms to watch Kodachi's expression. "Your endurance only long enough to run by the boundary of Rose Brier, you're too lazy enough to try of the periphery of Nerima. You walk in a manner that suggests you are too slow for an encounter with my students, no matter how much stronger you are." She didn't even bother to delve into the topic of how Kodachi neglected to train in both defense, from the non-reaction she got when she walked around her.

She shrugged then gave a severely cut diagnostic. "Your size can be an advantage to you, but not too much, as my students can dodge quite speedily. I predict that my students will either try to wear you out or simply get in as much hits as they can while avoiding yours."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Only if you take it to be so." Nabiki said then moved towards the children again. "I'm not much of a fighter, Kodachi-san, merely telling you the odds."

"Then how about a fight, to test my abilities?" Kodachi offered, still bothered by the fact that Nabiki took her skill so lightly, she was the best in Furinkan and surely still good enough now.

Nabiki shrugged then called out her two students, both of them hurried out of the room when she summoned, leaving behind the Xiang-chi immediately. They bowed to her lightly and Nabiki nodded.

"Hanae, Sei, Kodachi wants us to test her fighting ability." Nabiki said lightly regarding Kodachi, "She thinks I have underestimated her. What do you think?"

"It depends on what you told her, Nabiki-sensei," When they were being formally taught, they always referred to their teachers as sensei regardless of their relationship. "But I am sure that your assessment of her ability isn't that far off the mark."

Hanae nodded in agreement. "Sensei, your appraisal of anything has been what my father prized the most in your battles. You would not tell Kodachi something that you are not particularly sure of."

"Come now children, Kodachi," Nabiki said as she turned to walk towards the dojo. She slid the shoji open, revealing the room in all its grandiose. "A challenge of sorts has been issued and accepted."

"Come now, Nabiki," Kodachi said as she followed. "Surely the children should be left out of this."

"The children are samurai." Nabiki said as if their status would explain their presence. "They should learn to participate in battle."

"But... they're so young!" Akane protested as they opened the side shoji which revealed space where spectators usually watched, they pulled two cushions then turned expectantly at Nabiki.

"Who do you propose then be our judge, Kodachi?" Nabiki asked as she bowed towards the takonama the children not short behind, then turned towards the still stunned Kodachi. "I am sure that the children would want to watch this, just as any of the samurai."

The children looked at them and sat down in their respective places.

Kodachi looked even more stunned, "Oh... they're judging. From the way you talked before, I thought they would be fighting me."

"Yes, but they might not be able to give an accurate summation of your abilities." Nabiki shrugged then turned to her, "I am merely obliging to your wishes."

Kodachi took on a ready stance, which Nabiki recognized as one of the most basic of Anything Goes, a meld from two other styles Genma taught them. Nabiki looked at the other woman suspiciously. Kodachi shouldn't know anything from Indiscriminate Grappling, even a basic stance.

A glance at the children told them that they recognized the stance as well. Something was up, Nabiki didn't move from her position. 'No one outside the Saotome Clan should know any move from the Hidden Arts. No one.' Even Happosai did not speak of Indiscriminate Grappling freely.

She could name a select few outside the clan who knew that the style was practiced. The Amazon matriarch and her two heirs, possibly China's emperor, Gosunkugi from Ranma's fight back at the party and a few rivals from when they were younger, back in the fiancée wars. Some were even hazy. They didn't go about proclaiming they actually used it. Those who see them fight, attribute their skills to a lot of branches of martial arts, few suspected it was actually a compiled version of every art they have gotten their hands in.

Yet this woman, who rarely practiced outside martial arts rhythmic gymnastics moved like a practitioner of the Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu. She was a clumsy and slow practitioner, but a practitioner nonetheless. This did not bode well.

"Well, are you going to fight me or not?" Kodachi asked irritated her right hand balled into a fist in front of her.

"I am." Nabiki smiled complacently, sure that Kodachi would make the first move against her, Kodachi was more impatient than her brother, and her brother always initiated their sparring matches. "I'm merely waiting for your attack."

"But you're not ready," Kodachi protested as she noted Nabiki's relaxed position.

"Just because I take a different stance than you, my dear Kodachi," Nabiki reasoned out as she placed her hands on the back of her neck, the one stance that her brother used to goad most of his enemies before continuing, "Doesn't mean I'm not ready for you."

Kodachi's hit first came an inch clear of her face, 'She's pulling her blows and intentionally missing me?' Nabiki almost laughed. "You should learn to treat me with more respect than that Kodachi. I don't fight with someone who is not giving their all."

"Who says I'm not?" Kodachi asked as she turned to assault Nabiki with a barrage of punches. To anyone who went through training using 'roasted chestnuts on an open fire', Kodachi's punches were less than mediocre.

"Because it's either your aim is quite bad for your punches to miss this wide," Nabiki pointed out as she jumped over a 90-degree kick that Kodachi lashed out, using Kodachi's leg as her support to jump through before saying, "Or you're missing me intentionally."

After that there was a grim determination in Kodachi's eyes that settled in, confirming Nabiki's suspicion that she was holding back. Unluckily for Kodachi, Nabiki didn't have the same reservation as her brother for hitting females, which probably stemmed from the fact that Nabiki was female herself.

Fortunately for Kodachi, Nabiki was merely testing her abilities today and was prolonging the fight. Nabiki knew Kodachi was exerting too much energy when she struck out making it very easy for her to just push the girl before she could rebound.

And when the woman did punch, she left too much of her defense open that any counter attack that dealt in the lines of a foot sweep, an attack towards her midsection or her brother's habit of kicking the opponent's head back when he jumped, would automatically disable her.

"You're the one who's not taking me seriously with all this dodging," Kodachi quipped as she heaved a quick punch to the side, followed by a kick, both which Nabiki dodged gracefully.

"I'm testing you're abilities, remember?" Nabiki said in a voice so sweet that it was obvious it was meant to be insulting.

A few minutes in the dodge game and Kodachi was already breathing heavily. Nabiki was quite surprised she managed to last this long. Too many gaps in her defense indicated that on Kodachi's first blow Nabiki could've hit her cold instantly.

Nabiki turned to block another barrage of punches and almost gasped when she recognized the following moves, some of the more advanced attacks in Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu. If Kodachi could learn from merely watching the elite few fights they did displaying the moves, then she must be quite a fast learner, possibly just as fast as Ranma. Unless someone was actually teaching her these moves, and she strongly doubted anyone would do that, for she wasn't Saotome.

It was then that Nabiki decided to guard her moves carefully, not using any combination moves from Indiscriminate Grappling, focusing more on the style Rian favored and lapsing sometimes to the defensive forms that the amazons taught her.

Most of the moves she employed could be the basics of any martial art school. Nabiki was learning more about Kodachi's fighting style, while she was just giving off some commonly known moves.

Deciding to end the fight then, Nabiki dodged down from one of Kodachi's last blows and swept her feet under her, sending the girl tumbling. She brought her elbow down to Kodachi's neck, but didn't connect it.

"Now you see, Kodachi, a lesson from someone, who cannot even land a blow on someone like me, who is not so good with the art as my brother in the first place, is not any lesson at all," Nabiki lectured, pinning Kodachi to the ground. Nabiki didn't mention that she never truly lost to anybody other than her brother.

Nabiki stood up then dusted her kimono, holding her hand out to Kodachi, who accepted. Motioning for Hanae, Nabiki instructed her to assist the woman to her room. "Sei, Hanae, after you fix the game board that you left, you are dismissed and think upon one of the many flaws of Kodachi's fighting style."

Kodachi glared at her, Nabiki merely smiled. "Kodachi, how are they going to learn how to fight if they do not see what is wrong in the first place?"

"Do you have to tell it to them in front of my face?" Kodachi spit out, leaning mostly on Hanae.

"If you cannot take criticism, Kodachi, you must learn how to be correct. Take for example, Sei, what do you think is the weakest point in Kodachi's form, and why was my reaction time to her punches faster after the first few seconds?"

The boy paused for a minute trying to re-create what happened in his head, then answered, "She falls into the same pattern after a few tries."

"That's true, and a pattern yields to predictability," Nabiki informed her then looked at Hanae. "And Hanae, did you notice anything out of the ordinary of the punches, and kicks Kodachi threw?"

Again, there was a pause as the girl thought for a minute. "She threw too much power behind them, that counter attacks or blocking was only possible if you were extremely nimble."

Nodding, she patted her two students head. "Correct." She turned to Kodachi and said, "And since your body isn't really powerful, the gravity of the punches you give tends to push you forward more than what's actually necessary. Those flaws are only from your punches. I think this little lesson is over now, think more about your actions before you decide to challenge someone whose skills you barely know."

* * *

**Disclaimer: **_Ranma 1/2_ was borrowed from the brilliant mind of Rumiko Takahashi. The book this was based on was _When there is Hope._

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**Special Thanks to:**  
MJ, Maurice Phillip, Tin and Angel, Jourdan Bickham, Byooki Desu, Anno Nimus, Thomas Hamill, Cat Highlord

And to the person reading this.

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**Endnotes:**

(1) **Dashi**: Soup stock. Okay, even if the translation is there, so there's no confusion I'm repeating it down here.  
(besides dashi and deshi sound too much alike.)

(2) **kombu**: kelp

(3) **katsuobushi**: bonito flakes

(4) **sashimi**: raw insert food here, you don't cook this at all, you just have to slice fresh tuna fish to eat, fresh sea urchin, raw salmon, raw octopus... :) With some soy sauce and lemon juice it's a good meal. (If you're not that hungry)

(5) **tabi**: socks with the split in the middle for the shoes. You know what I'm talking about right?

(6) What is **Xiang-chi**? If you've been listening to Nabiki :) you'd know this is Chinese chess. Sometimes called Hsiang-chi or Xiangqi. One of the little war games :) I got my info on this on 'The Basics of Chinese Chess' :)

(7) What are **hatamoto**? A hatamoto is a special retainer of a daimyo, who had the right of access to his lord and could wear his sword in the presence of his lord.

(8) **Kyudo**: Way of the bow or Japanese Archery

(9) **Chiu Gakho**: Middle School (Probably equivalent to the present day Middle School)

(10) **Dai Gakho**: Great School (Probably equivalent to present day High School or College)

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**Author's Notes:**

I reread this for the first time in... probably four years and was shocked. I cannot believe my writing was this bad. Ugh. I extremely have to revise all of the chapters now. And I mean now. I don't even want to know what the state of Chapter 9 is in. I deleted 17 'after all's and cut down from 17,330 to 16,201 words later to 14, 652. I realize I wrote in a lot of unnecessary things.

This is a revised edition (2005) of the 1998 edition so it's probably foggy in your memories. If you have the old version stored, burn it, throw it away. Just... well stick with this one. It's way better.

In retrospect, I think this chapter was bad because I was suffering from mental block at the time. (As said from my previous author's notes.) I've deleted two scenes one between Nabiki and Hanae, the other with Akane and Hanae.

Expect it to get revised in the next weeks for grammar. Btw, my webpage is still behind fanfiction dot net stuff but it has fanart. I'll be revising the webpage this sembreak so just wait for it. Chapter 7 isn't even uploaded properly there yet. But from what I understand, I just finished editing chapter 7 last april.

iCe

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**Revision:  
**04/02/06 -- Common mistakes in the English Language  
01/14/06 -- Revising hads, and quotation punctuation  
10/18/05 -- Revising grammar  
09/19/05 -- Revised grammar extensively. Deleted a few unnecessary scenes. Took out after alls, annoying paragraphs and three ellipses.

_

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**webpage**: iCe _dot_ esmartdesign _dot _com  
**email **siuane _at _gmail _dot _com  
**LJ **iCe of dreams _with the spaces as underscore_

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We sometimes tend to forget that criticism is better than praise, when we criticize we say that the other person has the ability to accept our words and take it as a challenge to become better because of this.  
_my teacher (hehehe)_

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I write when the spirit moves, and I make sure it moves every day.  
_unknown_


	10. Part 9 : June to July

**Revision notes:  
**11/23/06 – arranged some mistakes in detail with regard to old Japanese province names, grammar  
rest is belos

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Creep home, and take your place there,  
The spent and the maimed among;  
God grant you find one face there  
You loved when all was young.  
**Charles Kingsley**  
_Young and Old_

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**Rendezvous with Fate V.3  
**by iCe  
Chapter 9

_... Remember the start? I didn't do much of anything... by the end, I was too deep in doing things I'm not even sure I **know** how to do..._

_

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_

After Akane was dismissed from Hanae and Sei's lesson, Akane stalked to take a bath. She sent Ifuku off, telling her that she did not need the maid's help. Akane fumed as she began to strip off her sweaty kimono, violently upending a pail of water on top of her head. Akane wasn't a sore loser but she was a rather inexperienced one.

Throughout her years in high school she was second to none, the unbeaten champion. If Akane Tendo fought, she won. Akane Tendo **always** brought home the gold.

When Ryoga wandered into her life, she had never been beaten. Her husband has qualms about sparring with her but he was a good teacher, a patient and lenient one at that.

In time she would have taken on the mantle of Anything Goes. She shook her head as she scrubbed herself clean, she did not expect a woman would be her downfall.

It didn't help the matters that someone just beat her. As she played the fight out thoroughly in her mind's eye, she grimaced repeatedly over Nabiki's criticism. It was her scathing words that proved to be her undoing rather than her precise blows.

'Is there anything worse than being given advice you haven't even asked for?' Akane thought bitterly as she remembered the way Nabiki humiliated her in front of the children. Akane winced again. 'Yes, being given advice by someone who's just beaten you.'

And Nabiki beat her. Badly. 'Damn.'

After rinsed herself of the soap she sighed, her anger washing away.

It was mostly her fault. She expected she was still the best, she wasn't. Her father's words came back to her, 'Don't get too cocky, Akane. Remember that there's always someone out there who's better than you are.'

She just didn't expect to face that person so late in her life. Akane sighed after she made sure all the soap was washed away she sank into the hot furo, the warm water easing her muscles. She could already feel her bruises forming from Nabiki's jabs. Kodachi was a person who bruised far too easily for Akane's tastes.

Rubbing a sore spot in her side Akane looked up at the ceiling. "I have serious training problems." She wondered how on earth she was going to coerce -- err -- convince the people living with her to help her.

-

Nabiki watched as Ranma initiated the next lesson he was going to teach the children. The Raging Waters attack was one of the moves in the Anything Goes School that linked two people in a fight.

When they were younger, both Ranma and Nabiki were trained to fight independently and again with each other, a unique training that Genma passed on to them. Usually twins were trained to depend on each other to the point that when one was disabled, the other would be hard-pressed to continue.

They had to admit that their training was one of the things that was worth thanking Genma for. Nabiki watched the moves critically, they were back to back and hands linked with each other by the elbows.

The last time the cousins tried to do this, they didn't even manage to walk towards the entrance. The move depended on the ability of the two to second-guess what the other needed to do next, one misstep by either could make them lose momentum and get hit.

As it was, Sei took on the mantle of leading. Hanae simply followed. It wasn't a very successful habit. She wondered how they were going to fare when they were placed on those isolated rocks in the beach, with the waters pressing hard against them... and the instructions for them not to get wet.

She could almost see Ranma's exasperation towards the two and she smiled a bit. Ranma was an exceptional student, but he wasn't a patient teacher. Both of them weren't.

The reason for their impatience dwelled in the fact that they learned so quickly in such a small amount of time that they became irritated at anyone whose performance rated below their own achievements. This small criterion bounded every other person they met up with.

"Don't be too hard on them Ranma, few can learn it in two days." Nabiki smirked at Ranma's imperceptible frown. They learned it in less. "Has your students told you anything about my fight with Kodachi yesterday?"

Without taking his eyes off the children Ranma shrugged. "What else is new? She shouts, you infuriate her, she gets her ribbon, you dodge it all, she laughs that enraged laugh, you give her one of your smirks and walk off."

"Everything about it was new," Nabiki quipped as she walked to stand beside her brother. "She managed to challenge me."

"She does that every time." Nabiki saw that he was determined to ignore the entire matter. Second habit when it came to Kodachi, but not an entirely wise move.

"She used Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu." Nabiki smirked as she watched Ranma's reaction to that piece of information. He did not expect that one. "I can recognize our style anywhere."

For a brief moment Ranma took his eyes away from his students and looked at Nabiki thoughtfully, turning back to the children he asked, "How much does she know?"

"I'm not sure. I think the best way to find out is for a sparring match with you, although I have a rough idea of her skill." Nabiki gazed at the cousins who were starting to try to jump. The principle of the attack was to evade all projectiles from a cyclic direction, following the flow of water. "I still think you shouldn't be lax on your hold on Kodachi. She's watching right now."

He spared a glance outside. "I'll make her go away. Please watch the children for a while." With that he disappeared towards the entrance of the dojo.

-

The match between herself and Nabiki opened Akane's eyes a bit. She may be a practitioner of the Anything Goes School but Nabiki has enough skill not only to beat her, but play with her while doing it.

Truthfully, she hasn't been keeping up on her training. She was a sensei that much was true, but her father took the mantle of a teacher in the dojo more than she did.

Since her marriage to Ryoga, her father was left alone to manage the big house by himself. She did visit him every day but that stopped as soon as she was informed she was having a baby. She dropped by the halls to see her father every other day, but the training was not as intense. It was just enough to maintain her level of expertise.

Still, her only work out involved a pack of bricks, a daily jog and the basic drills and exercise. It was just enough to be a sensei but not enough to improve. She wasn't as serious as Ryoga who went into training trips.

It seemed to her that even her former husband would be no match for someone like Nabiki, especially if Hanae was accurate in her description of how her sister-in-law handles a sword. Ranma, they professed, was even better than Nabiki.

Strengthened by her resolve to learn more about the art her newly acquired husband practices, she decided to start the day by looking for Ranma and Nabiki. Walking towards the dojo, Akane decided she should probably watch Ranma train the children, it was early morning, and she found out that he usually trained them before he left for whatever purposes for the day.

What she found in the dojo made her smile: Hanae and Sei were going through in perfect unison the katas they have just been taught. She found out that after half a year of not teaching, she truly missed the job.

Something nagged her about the moves that the children were doing and scrutinized them carefully. When she finally found out what it was she gasped for it came from some of the more advanced katas of the Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu.

The two pupils were initiating moves from the _Duo Jet Stream Raging Water Attack_, although how they were going to achieve it without things flying towards them, she didn't know.

Her watching the two stopped suddenly when her vision was impaired by red. She looked at the shirt, then at the owner of it and sighed. "Do you mind, Ranma? I was watching."

"You know the rules, Kodachi," Ranma said sternly as he led her away from his students. "You don't watch my children train."

"Well, fine." Akane humphed, as she crossed her arms. Fact was, she didn't know, but that information might have just aggravated the situation. If her husband wasn't going to teach her, she'd be just as stubborn about it as he was. "So would you mind explaining to me why you're using Indiscriminate Grappling? I was told only one house practiced it."

Akane noted that Ranma's temper seemed to rise up a notch. What worried Akane was that there wasn't anything physical that indicated this shift, more of a feeling in her part. "I don't know how you determined that from watching them practice a few moves, much less put a name on it but I don't think it's your business to know what I teach my students."

"As the heir of the Tendo School of Martial Arts, I am **making** it my business," Akane pointed out. His temper went up another notch.

From her fight with Nabiki, she should have known better to start shooting her mouth off. The wisest thing to do was shut up and find out how all of them were connected. Whatever entity sent her back must have a deeper reason for making them all inter-connected.

But Akane wasn't at all a rational person when she was angry, and her temper got the better of her that day. She hoped she could rein in her temper now. Nabiki said that Ranma was better than she was, and Akane just received a beating from Nabiki, she didn't know if her body could handle more from a better opponent.

Ranma was silent. She startled him. Good. She wasn't angry, just curious as how a Saotome could have gotten hold of such a unique form. Of course, now that the words were out of her mouth she regretted it. She wasn't heir now. Just her luck if someone challenges her out of the blue. At least she didn't say Anything Goes. It would have brought more trouble than it was worth.

"Her style is very... shall we say specialized?" Nabiki said as she walked towards them in a slow deliberate manner. It seemed that she exited the dojo as soon as the move was finished by the children. Since Akane failed to spot her initially, she was taken by surprise when Nabiki finally spoke, "Although how she managed to learn it is beyond my comprehension."

"Who trained you?" Ranma demanded.

"My father," Akane answered a bit uneasily shifting her gaze from Ranma to Nabiki. "What's wrong with that?"

"Your father," Ranma echoed as he turned to Nabiki. "My sister tells me you want to train Hanae in martial arts?"

Akane's eyes lit up, she might finally get away with not teaching Hanae swimming. "Yes."

"How much do you know?" he asked tersely, making Akane feel like she was eighteen again, being interviewed for her first part-time job.

"Enough," she answered wearily.

Ranma refocused his attention on her, weighing her answer. "Enough? How are those bruises of yours healing?"

"What?" Akane took a step back, her bruises were hidden. Nabiki couldn't have told Ranma anything about her physical state after the fight.

"Nabiki tends to hit pretty hard," he explained as if he was talking to one of the children. "How are your bruises?"

'Nabiki tends to hit pretty hard. In the right places, and in more ways than one... and they say Ranma's better?' Instinctively she rubbed one behind her back. "They're... fine..."

"They'll heal completely within a week," Nabiki offered Ranma, she shrugged. "It was a test of her defenses, I didn't have to go as hard as Cologne or even pops did." Akane winced, what would have an all-out fight brought? And she gave her all.

"I'll give you two weeks. One week to heal, one week to train. If you can beat me in a fight, I'll let you handle Hanae's training." Akane didn't know if she should be happy at the prospect or completely give up.

"What do you get if you win?" Akane asked tentatively.

"I don't want anything from you." Ranma turned to go.

"That doesn't sound right, you're giving me something but you won't get any." Akane wondered why she was doing it, the odds of her winning against Ranma was not enough for what she was about to do. She has nothing to offer him.

"My, how noble," Nabiki commented in the most pleasant voice Akane has ever heard her use. Although it matched something of a friendly note, Akane couldn't deny that there was a sadistic intent behind those pleasant tones. "If you don't give one brother, I'll be happy to think up of your reward."

"If it's all right with Kodachi?" He expected her to protest, but she conceded quietly. Akane almost gulped at that. It was obvious that her sister-in-law did not like her. Akane's claim of being heir might be the catalyst that will manage to get her thrown out. It worried her.

"I'll think of something up, Kodachi." Nabiki smiled pleasantly, bowed her head and walked with Ranma towards the waiting children.

As she watched the twins retreat she looked around for support and only found one of the stone lanterns. She leaned against it and sighed as she replayed the confrontation in her head. 'Oh boy, what have I gotten myself into now?'

* * *

Normally, Nabiki just stayed behind while a company went to the border as she watched things at home. Today, she decided to finally check out the discrepancies at their fief boundaries. It was doing more harm than good and she was worried for the meeting.

She glanced side-ways at Ranma. He had a frown plastered across his face and was determined to get to the border and finish the check for the day.

'First things, first.' Nabiki didn't know if it was Ranma's temper or the hot day, but it seemed like the walk was taking longer than expected. Even at the break-neck pace that they set, it seemed they were spending more hours than usual.

It would do well if she would lighten up his 'wife-induced' mood before they dealt with whatever attacks were happening at Hase. His mind was troubled, and troubles cannot bother someone who's going into battle. 'Well, there's no other time better now to bring this up,' Nabiki stopped at one of the trees; her hand was clasped supportively against its trunk. Noticing her stop, Ranma turned to look at her a few trees ahead.

"What's wrong, Nabiki?" he asked, jumping towards her.

Nabiki smiled as she sat down at the branch she was standing on and looked up to his looming form. "Come on. Let's talk a bit before the samurai catch up with us." Their usual escort was lagging. They didn't take to the trees as the twins do.

He gave her a puzzled look but he didn't question her intent and sat complacently at a branch opposite hers. The branch swayed lightly but held him. "I have a feeling this is about this morning." He smiled ruefully waiting for her questions.

"Why didn't you think up your prize? You could have anything." Nabiki looked at him, Kodachi would never contest the prize he would say and he could easily beat her. She didn't need to ask the question, she knew the answer, she just wanted to hear it from him. "You know you could've."

He looked away. "It didn't feel right."

Nabiki stared at her brother. After more than twenty years with him, it still surprised her that he tended to act noble. In between all the screw ups Genma managed to teach them, Ranma's honor is one of the real gems. It wasn't a startling revelation, she had known all along but she only just now realized why he treated wife so kindly.

He didn't want anything from Kodachi, not because she was Kodachi, but because he knew he could beat her. It was an arrogant thing to do, but it has always been Ranma's way. She should have known.

Nabiki frowned, her brother's sense of honor, although touching was irritating at times like this. It was admirable but sometimes she wished he'd just break some of his rigid rules to show up someone like Kodachi. "You know, I never could understand why you'd do such a pig-headed thing. It's an advantage."

"You can take whatever she gives if you want," the finality of the way he said it stated clearly there was no room for discussion. He would never take what he felt was wrongfully given.

'Well that throws anything material out the window,' Nabiki thought as her mental list got shorter, Ranma would never consider taking it. Thinking she won't get any more from the discussion, she changed the subject, "Are you still worried about her claim on being an heir?"

"I'm more worried about the fact that she doesn't think before she enters a fight." He stopped to think for a moment then looked at her. "Yes, she said she was heiress of something... what was it? Tano, Tenda..."

"Tendo... the Tendo school of Martial Arts." It sounded familiar to Nabiki. She didn't know where she heard the name but it was something she'd encountered before. Looking it up would probably be a wise move. "I'll put our people on it."

"You sure the house would be fine with only Kodachi there to manage?" Nabiki didn't know if he was worried for the house or for Kodachi. "I've never left her alone without you to supervise."

The crackle in the bushes got Nabiki on her feet. "It looks like the samurai have finally caught up with us." She brushed her black pants but before she jumped towards the next tree giving her brother a knowing smile. "Don't worry about Kodachi. I left her with some things to do. I never actually **believed** she'd fall for Martial Arts of Wife in Good Graces."

* * *

Akane brushed her sunny yellow kimono that complimented her mood that day as she tipped her bonnet up into the sky and smiled. It promised to be a very sunny day.

"Lady 'dachi, what are we doing picking a lot of flowers?" Hanae asked, taking a few of the flowers she fancied as she passed by them and added them to Akane's basket.

Picking up another flower in her path and placed it in her already accumulating pile Akane reminded Hanae, "It's Akane." She wrinkled her nose with distaste as she remembered the exact words Nabiki used to describe her cooking abilities. She promptly dropped another flower into her half filled basket. "Oh, well, Nabiki suggested that I try some ikebana arrangements since I can't cook."

"Uh... dontcha think that's too much?" Hanae asked eyeing the basket carefully. There was only one takonama that needed an ikebana arrangement, and that was the one at the dojo. That didn't need much of the flowers Kodachi was picking.

"Don't worry about it, Hanae." In the past few weeks, Akane grew to like the girl. The girl obviously wasn't her daughter, and maybe Ranma cheated her -- or Kodachi, but she was all too nice for Akane to stay mad at something that was her parent's faults.

To Akane's way of thinking, who the girl was born to wasn't Hanae's fault. Rather, the disregard the parents have towards their relationship. She still didn't know what to teach her though, and as a foster mother she was obliged to teach **some**thing. And she simply had nothing at hand to teach.

"Uh... what does Sei's foster mother teach him?" Akane asked as they continued the walk. It was a pleasant day, and it seemed both Ranma and Nabiki has some business to attend to at the border. She was happy at that, at least, she didn't need to explain **why** she claimed **his** title. 'At least I won't be fighting him... not yet anyway'

"How not to listen when you're not spoken to," Hanae answered jumping along to a tree branch. Akane frowned, it was much too high to suit her liking, yet Hanae seemed to like the place far too much. "Um, Confucius's _Four Book of Morals_, _Book of Great Lineage_, _Ancestries to the Mikado_, _Three Character Book Morals_, gener'lly books like that. But 'Nty 'kyo already taught those things to me. Oh and how to read and write, but I know that too."

"How many years older are you than Sei anyway?"

"A year probably, not by much though, possibly even months." Hanae smiled promptly then shrugged. "But he's a better learner than I am, I don't need to learn much 'cuz I'm a girl. I'm just supposed to get an omiai so I just get a highly edited version of what he learns. I'm happy with the entire arrangement."

"And this is okay with you?" Akane asked, disgusted. Medieval Japan. Figures.

"Well, I already know more than most girls," Hanae answered as she smiled, plucking some leaves of the tree then letting it fall gently to the ground "What I **really** want is the train under the Amazons. Just like 'Nty Nabiki and daddy."

"Amazons?" Akane asked incredulously, the child has a wild imagination. Weren't the amazons some remote tribe in Greece? Wasn't that mythological? "I thought Ranma and his sister trained in China."

"Hmm... well, yah, under 'der Ko'lon and some 'peror," Hanae answered proudly, although Akane certainly didn't understand the words. Hanae scanned the trees in front of her and smiled as she called to her foster mother. "Hey 'da -- 'kane-san, I'll race you to the water!"

Akane sighed, as she followed in pursuit. For a girl, Hanae could easily outrun her, and she was more than ten years her junior. She was actually very happy she has been keeping fit for the past few months.

She frowned at the sight of the water, not wanting the implications it brought, and gulping down the impending doom that loomed over Hanae's want for the water. She ran towards the girl wishing Hanae could find some other person to ask to learn to swim.

Out of her kimono, Hanae took out a well-hidden cat and set it free. She smiled at Akane as she patted the small creature, and waved it goodbye.

"You like cats?" Akane asked, as she watched the girl look out longingly at the feline creature who was scampering away at the moment.

"Hmm... oh yes. From what daddy tells me, 'Nty Shampoo makes the cutest cat you've ever seen," Hanae answered impishly, gazing out into the horizon. "She has purple fur like 'Nty Shampoo's lav'nder locks and has these sort of bells in her hair. Daddy tells me lotsa stories..."

Akane took that Hanae's Aunt Shampoo was a doll maker or something and left it at that. She nodded as she looked at the wistful girl. "Don't you want to keep that cat?"

Hanae whirled around suddenly, but shook her head solemnly. "Daddy and Aunt Nabiki have this aversion towards the cat-like species. It leans t'wards the safer side for us not to keep the little darlings."

"Oh?" Curiously the girl didn't mention Ranko who seemed deathly afraid of them, surely neither would punish the children for bringing a cat home just because they hated the things. She dismissed the thoughts because Hanae managed to persuade her to finally teach her how to swim.

Akane shook her head as Hanae walked beside her towards the beach. She wondered exactly how Hanae had cajoled her to teach her the rudiments of swimming, when she can't, for the life of her, move an inch in water.

* * *

Ukyo's aunt, just as her father, was in the okonomiyaki business. Just as her grandfather, and great-grandfather before them. It was what the Kuonji line excelled in, and it is what the Kuonji line was known for.

Another thing they were known for was the unique style of martial arts they possessed. She heard that her forefathers -- or rather, the women -- created the style because of the need to defend themselves since they could not rely on the brute strength the men have and the women sorely lacked.

Of course, since only men could sell food, Kuonji women were forced to pretend to be male. At least the Saotomes just cast a blind eye to this. This was what Kuonji Ukyo was thinking while she was cleaning the small white plates the last customer used.

Ranma and Nabiki Saotome thought she was a boy the moment they stole that okonomiyaki from her grill all those years ago. It was a wonder that Genma Saotome thought to offer to her father the proposal for her hand, and her father -- because Kuonji women were hard to marry off -- agreed.

It was a foolish thought -- no -- a **stupid** thought to think that any samurai would consider her to be wifely material. But Genma Saotome thought her to be fit... along with the hundreds of men and women he strung along for his two wards.

Ranma Saotome was a fairytale. He was the prince that her father talked about in his stories in the deep of the night when she was about to sleep. And just like those fairytales... he was an illusion she could never hope to have.

'I don't love Ranma, damn it.' Ukyo thought scrubbing the plate with a vengeance, not really for want to clean the already immaculate plate, but to relieve her of the stress that settled on her shoulders.

'If you don't love him... then why do you pine for him?' Ukyo looked up at the clear sky trying to stop what she knew would be tears. With a battle against her heart, she was sure she was going to fail. And she was going to fail miserably.

Any further brooding was interrupted by her aunt's call from the counter, "Ukyo, dear, come here please."

Thankful for the interruption of her thoughts, Ukyo wiped her hands on the cloth beside the tub of water she was using. She took a deep breath to try to calm herself determined not to let her aunt see her distress.

She ducked under the small curtain that separated the back of the restaurant from the small garden outside of it and smiled for the benefit of her aunt. It was an ordinary business day and a pointedly dull one at that.

Days like this, Hanae walked up the grill and asked Ukyo to teach her how to make okonomiyaki and they'd laugh over the distorted food she managed to whip up. She didn't realize how much Hanae added into her life until she was gone. 'Get a grip, girl,' Ukyo scolded herself pulling her bangs out of her eyes tucking them behind ears. 'You make your own decisions, Hanae was one of them.'

Even as she reminded herself of the choice she made to leave, she missed the time she spent with the girl. Hanae has the most energetic attitude that was entirely too infectious for her own good. She always made a slow day worth something. Hanae taught her things in life that made every day bearable. Ukyo's days seemed to be a lot bleaker without the carefree laughter she brought and the beaming smile she carried wherever she went.

In the past few days that she managed to distance herself from Hanae, she wondered why she didn't stop being a foster mother before. The kami knew she could have done so a long time ago. But she didn't.

Hanae was a headstrong character and self-reliant. She could take care of herself quite well. She was a fast learner. Maybe not as fast as everyone hoped Ranma's daughter would turn out, but quicker than most. The truth was, Ukyo needed Hanae more than Hanae needed her.

Ranma wasn't the type of person to force a friend to do something she didn't want. Ranma has the resources and enough vassals to find another foster mother for the child. In all truths, there was nothing forcing her to stay. Nothing but her own heart.

As she approached the counter she addressed the masculine figure hovering over the grill. "Yes, Aunt Kashiko?" To everyone other than family, it was queer to address such a masculine looking person as an aunt. If anyone wondered where Ukyo learned how to disguise her femininity during her younger years, they have but to look at Kashiko to understand. "Is there something you wanted?"

"Oh, Ukyo dear." The woman smiled pleasantly as she handed her a parchment. "I know you've always wanted to try to cook for a clan meeting."

Ukyo looked at the parchment, uncomprehending. When she scanned it, it told her that some old samurai wanted her aunt to cook for some sort of a party in the Yuigahama area in two months. She wondered what clan meetings have to do with the invitation she held. "It seems like a good job order, Aunt Kashiko... do you want me to help out?"

"Oh, no Ukyo-chan, I don't want you to do anything of the sort," the old woman said, flipping an okonomiyaki at just the right time, she turned to smile towards Ukyo again. "I want you to go there and do it for me."

Kashiko was a woman in her mid-fifties, and a Kuonji 'till the end. Just as most Kuonji women -- she never married and remained in the Sagami since god knows when. She was still strong and worked diligently. It was uncharacteristic of her to pass down work of this magnitude. Her skills has not waned over the years and she was just as good now as she was ten years ago, maybe even better.

The job order was a good one, and her aunt could still handle a gathering. It was hard to hold money, and samurai paid well for their services. At least their wives did. "If you wish so, Aunt Kashiko."

Kashiko was the closest person Ukyo could call as mother since her own passed away when she was a child, and her concern towards her niece spurted up in all occasions. "You still don't understand me do you, child?"

Ukyo nodded her head in agreement, folding the order into her obi. In order to obey her aunt's wishes to get to Yuigahama on time, she needed to leave soon. Maybe punctuality wasn't a prize treasured by samurai, but she abided by its rules. "No, Aunt Kashiko, I don't understand."

The old lady smiled as she placed the fresh okonomiyaki off the grill, she was far slower now, but her age did not affect the quality of her food. "My dear Ukyo, the Yuigahama event is one that **only** the most elite of the Clan are invited along." She gazed into her eyes meaningfully then repeated the last part of her sentence to stress her point, "Only the most elite."

Ukyo nodded, trying to pass a semblance of understanding while trying to plan what she would do. She would need to go to her aunt's shanty then backtrack to Yuigahama. Something was vaguely familiar about that setting that seemed to nag at her but dismissed the thought as trivial.

Her aunt, satisfied at her nod, dismissed her with a wave of her hand to prepare. She backed out of the room gracefully as her aunt turned to the newly cooked okonomiyaki.

Kashiko sighed as she looked at it. She wished to give it to her niece since she seemed too dejected, but had completely forgotten.

She turned to one of her help, gave it to her, and told her to catch Ukyo. Looking at the grill with a determined set of eyes, she started to make another batch of the okonomiyaki batter.

She noticed Ukyo's dreary mood since her arrival at her restaurant, and it was certainly a mood that Kashiko had never associated with the girl before. It was as if life was robbed out of her the way she was constantly on the verge of tears and in a perpetual state of anxiety.

Something was troubling the girl, and Kashiko solved it the only way she could. Give her something else to work on. The events the Saotomes held at Yuigahama will keep the child from her dreary thoughts.

Sometimes the samurai graced them with a fight or two. A spar or two. Not those duels fought to the death but rather the test of skill. It would serve as a wonderful night for Ukyo.

There are things that the Saotome Clan has managed to hide from most of the other clans, and one of it was their fighting style. Another was the Jusenkyo curse, although she has yet to see what this curse really does.

She was one of the more trusted vassals, which is one of the reasons she was the one ordered to cook. As she said, it was a meeting held in the strictest secrecy. But then... she wasn't going to be young forever. And Ukyo could be trusted. Besides, the girl was far too desolate to sit and watch an old woman do her chores. She needed young boys to play with.

Yuigahama would be the best medication she could give her niece, she just knew it.

* * *

The moment Nabiki arrived on the small camp the samurai were holding at the border, the scent of blood overwhelmed her. It was as if she was twelve again leading that stupid little troop just to prove that she was worthy of being samurai to the Saotome clan.

One of the samurai came forward and bowed. "Lady Nabiki, Lord Ranma --" whatever he was going to say was cut short by the shout of one of the samurai. Nabiki and Ranma's head shot up in perfect unison.

"They're here," Ranma muttered as unsheathing his katana in an efficient motion while taking to the trees. Nabiki shook her head as she followed. Her brother still went head on to a fray.

Still -- aerial combat was the specialty of the Saotome School of martial arts. If their opponents took to the trees, Ranma would get them all. When he killed the first man, Nabiki landed on the ground. "Come out, come out, dear boys... time to play."

She closed her eyes, blocking whatever noise Ranma made throughout his fight. Since she was out today and she might as well have some fun, her sword was out the moment a branch snapped towards her.

Instinctively she raised her sword to block, and opened her eyes to one ninja. "Well, dear, I never expected you to actually dance..." She smiled as both of them jumped away from each other.

And Nabiki remembered why she hated dealing with ninja. They were so hard to fluster, they didn't even react. Her sword was sheathed again as she dodged the small throwing knifes. One cut her cheek, the other cut her hair. She was thankful it didn't cut the dragon whisker.

She thumbed the small cut in her cheek and frowned, maybe she shouldn't have worn her white shirt today. "I'd hand it to you if that was poisoned." Nabiki said sarcastically.

Before she could draw her sword again, Ranma landed beside her, his opponent hitting the ground with a sickening thud. Nabiki winced as the fall broke the ninja's neck and elbow. "Now **that** has **got** to hurt."

She turned towards her enemy again and almost cursed when she couldn't find him. "Damn, I didn't even land a blow yet, Ranma."

"Save your energy, they'll attack again," Ranma answered then gave her a flask of water he carried for good measure. He jumped up towards the trees to see if he can spot the enemy shouting a single command, "Change." Nabiki almost forgot. She should have changed before she left. If those ninja ever let it slip she was out of Nerima, Happosai was going to giver her hell.

Nabiki cut the white bonds in her breasts swiftly, just as the change completed, she sighed as she shrugged on her shirt. A second longer and she would have had trouble with the restrictive bind. Walking back out of the trees that shielded her, she turned towards Ranma.

Due to the apparent likeness to Ranma the curse gave Nabiki, she mainly used his name, just as Ranma used the name Ranko to hide his girl-form from everybody else. When they appeared together, however...

"Shizukama, did you see something?" Ranma called on top of one tall trees. He did not sheath his sword yet.

"No," Nabiki-kun answered curtly as he offered the silk he brought along to Ranma so that he could wipe his blood soaked sword. "Even in the trees, I could not see where they disappeared to. It was far too fast for me to trace. And I needed to change."

Jumping down from the trees to get the proffered cloth, Ranma didn't respond as he cleaned the red liquid out of his katana in deep contemplation of the events. Nabiki knew he wouldn't be able to see where these ninja retreated to, but he needed to try at the very least. As he foresaw, he did not even spot them.

The situation was starting to look bad. Each attack was closer to Rose Brier, closer to Nerima. If they managed to reach that part of the border, they would be able to reach Nerima. Possibly the Tokai.

What was frustrating was that the ninja were attacking at their weakest points. This shouldn't even happen in the first place. Samurai have been places strategically some meters apart starting from the beach near Rose Brier towards the road to Zushi, and the roads to Enoshima up to the point where the Edo met with the Sagami. Samurai have also been placed on each city in the border. Hase has been attacked and the temples Gokurakuji and Anryuuji as well. It clearly signified that they could at least break though the border guards.

The deep flaw of this plan was that it worked when you were battling straightforward samurai warriors, but simply didn't work with ninja. Ninja who took to the dark and could slip past the keenest of eyes. The only reason the ninja have not achieved whatever they wish to achieve is that Saotomes aren't your ordinary samurai and that Nabiki and Ranma have been working to keep the ninja off their backs.

In all aspects, they should've beaten theses ninja months ago, but no matter how they revised and re-revised their plans, they always seem to anticipate their moves. Nabiki started to suspect a leak inside, but she couldn't point her finger on anyone.

The problem was, they didn't know what the ninja were after. They attacked just enough to hold them back and disappeared just as quickly. They didn't even finish their fights and never returned for their dead. They appeared, tired everyone out and disappeared. They could see no motive.

Ranma and Nabiki walked back to camp just as the leader of the particular troop entered.

"Return to your posts," he ordered as he too wiped his sword. Nabiki-kun looked at Hiroshi, he was one of their farther cousins. Not direct blood, so he wasn't trained in the art, but was a competent leader and could be trusted with his life.

"I think I should start sleeping in the border, Shizukama." Ranma frowned thoughtfully at his sword re-sheathing it carefully. Nabiki-kun recalled it took him time to remember to call her that when she was cursed before. Now it came almost naturally. "We're losing too many samurai. I can't afford anything closer to Yuigihama. Old man Happosai's not going to like it if these attacks cost him **that** gathering."

Nabiki frowned, it wasn't possible. Ranma was needed in Rose Brier as well. As it is, it was their weakest spot. It was attackable from both Zushi and Enoden. The rest of the Sagami might be safe, but Rose Brier was still on the border. He said so.

"I know, but this is crazy!" Ranma said looking around him wildly. He then began speaking in Chinese, " _I **should** be in Hase, in case of a second attack. I may be a daimyo, Nabiki, but I'm just a vassal of the old lech. I **should** be in the front of the lines._ "

" _Then let me stay here._ " Nabiki answered, she thought about this while they traveled to the borders and thought that it would be a good solution for both her worries and her brother's.

" _No. Much as that would be a good solution as my presence, you know I can't run the house. You're the only one who can. There's no way you can leave for that long a period without the house going to shambles,_ " Ranma answered frustrated, but then gave her a small teasing smile. " _Besides what am I supposed to do? Sit there and tolerate Kodachi while you have fun?_ "

" _All right... how about a compromise?_ " Nabiki drawled, light smile playing on her lips, when Ranma didn't answer immediately her smile grew wider. " H_ere's what we do..._ "

* * *

Kodachi Saotome steeled herself for the convulsion that came as her muscles regenerated itself. She wished she could retch out the muddy taste in her mouth, but the worms that came out extremely sickened her.

She watched in fascination as muscle clung to the bone and settled. In a few minutes, the second layer would cling out. She had worried about her hair not growing but it seemed to regenerate as well.

She consoled herself with the fact that the face had not yet decomposed when it was bestowed to her. When she accepted the offer, she had expected a fully functioning body... not a half body of month long dead woman. At least Gosunkugi didn't make a fuss about her first appearance. He just fainted. If he screamed, she would have been forced to knock him out, and she barely had muscles back then.

She needed to recover fully but their hideout completely disgusted her. If she didn't need Gosunkugi, she would have scrapped the entire idea of putting up with the place altogether. But she needed to heal and the eta village was the place to do so.

Hardly anyone steps foot in the eta village, no one would try to seek her out there. It was foul grounds, and whatever happens that may seem queer will be left alone.

'I swear if I get a single louse on my kimono I'm going to burn this damn house.' She stopped as another convulsion passed and inspected her right hand.

The regeneration was taking longer than she expected, but at least she was regenerating. In a week she could probably get out of the house and meet with people.

When she first opened her eyes, she thought she went to hell. It took her a complete day to break out of the coffin. It would help if the person whose body she's currently invading is actually a samurai, but the girl who sent her down wouldn't even give her that. She settled for a degenerate peasant.

'I've lost time already.' Kodachi thought as she wrapped her hand with a white cloth she managed to acquire in the village. She hoped Gosunkugi could get all those mercenaries ready, because the Yuigahama meeting only happens once a year. The ninja attacking the border wouldn't last long without the leaks she was handing to them, and they were so close to the meeting.

'Let Nabiki think what she wants from those attacks, I don't care.' The only purpose she continually sent them the attacks was to startle them, make them unstable. To keep all their resources at the borders, the cities would be virtually defenseless with all the samurai there, and she would be able to make her move. 'After all... nobody knows their enemy is **inside** their cities themselves, do they?'

First she needed to take out the Akane girl and that wasn't going to be easy. Bringing out the special quill for the pigeons she started to write to her brother. 'I wonder if brother still searches for that girl he has devoted his soul to?'

Maybe her brother has heard of her supposed amnesia but she was smart enough to use the exact codes their father entrusted to them when they were children. Tatewaki would recognize it was from a trusted Kuno source.

Then again, Tatewaki was a maniac and would go wherever his love was, regardless of who sent it. He was still dumb enough to search for that woman blindly. Even in Saotome territory.

Her brother can bungle up this one all he likes. He's made her life a living hell, let's see if he can do so now, with her in someone else's body. Finishing the small note she brought the pigeon closer to her and inserted the small parchment into the cylinder at its leg.

"Let's see if my brother can still use all his resources when he's trying to get something he wants." She smiled as the bird flew away. "Go my pretty, find my brother for me."

Kodachi watched as the bird flew and she laughed. Back in Nerima, Akane shivered as she turned to look at the sky.

* * *

Akane leaned against the bark of the tree as Ifuku handed her a soft towel for her perspiration. Akane gave the woman a weak smile as she slumped down.

She ran her farthest and fastest today and Ifuku seemed to be less ruffled than she was. If Nabiki or Ranma found out about it, she'd die of humiliation. Being outmaneuvered by her own maid was not a comforting thought. "Do all the servants run as fast as you do, Ifuku-san?"

"No, Lady Akane," Ifuku answered, taking back the cloth and giving her a comforting smile. Akane suspected Ifuku was just trying to make her feel better. "When I was young, I wanted to be samurai so much that I tried to train as they did."

"They grant samurai status?" Akane whispered as she sat down on the soft ground for a rest. From all the history books, she knew it was a title that came out of birth.

Ifuku smiled wistfully, she did not wear a kimono for the run and dressed up in one of Akane's... creations. "I was a child. Children tend to dream." Akane wondered how Ifuku rose above that particular wish.

"It's nice of you to offer to run with me, Ifuku, but it wasn't all that necessary," Akane said kindly as she took out a small fan. "I dug myself into this trouble, and I have to get myself out."

"Won't you consider giving up Lord Ranma's challenge? He is very skilled." There was concern in Ifuku's eyes and she wondered, not for the first time, what the odds against winning over her husband were. "Lord Ranma is trained to kill. You have not picked up a ribbon in five years and you have amnesia. You must reconsider."

"Wait a minute! You think he's **won** already with the way you're speaking. Well I'll show Mister High and Mighty Ranma Saotome. We'll see who wins in two weeks." Akane shook her head. It was a matter of pride. She didn't want to back down now. Her husband would think she was a coward and Akane was certainly not a coward.

Ifuku stood up from the ground and offered her hand. "Then you must drive yourself to the limits, Lady Akane. Lord Ranma is honorable, and he will not take unnecessary shots at your body, but he is stronger and faster than Lady Nabiki. He has not fought you in a sparring match for seven years. He will not know how to pull his punches."

"I don't want him to pull his punches!" Akane snapped angrily. The last time someone fought her with a handicap was when she was seven years old. She refused then, and she was going to refuse now.

"I'm sorry, my lady. But if you don't want Lord Ranma to pull his punches, then I don't think I can help you. Lord Ranma's skill can match against any Saotome trained samurai and he wins. He always does. I don't think you can **survive** if he turns all out, and I'm sure you've never seen a chi blast."

"What?" Akane asked, irritated over the maid's assessment of Ranma's skill. They put Ranma on a high pedestal that no one has ever reached. She heard several stories of Ranma's fighting prowess and he has no losses. He was their daimyo but they revered him as their shining god, their golden boy, their lucky star. No one could compare.

"Lady Akane, Lord Ranma surpasses every trained **Saotome** samurai in speed and agility which makes up for his strength. He's not that strong, but he's stronger than most. In one punch he could break your bones, I'm not joking. Saotome samurai use the sword to kill not because they need it, but because they want to underplay their abilities. In all truth, the clan detests the use of any kind of weapon. All they need are their hands."

"How..." Akane asked in small wonder and a little amount of disbelief entered her voice. Such feats seemed surreal to her, especially since the last powerful blow that she saw just managed to break her classmates' ribs. "How do you know all of this?"

"I'm a loyal servant of the household. I have served the Saotome house for years. One of the reasons I guard you is because I am trusted." Ifuku paused, she was telling the truth, but telling the naked truth to Kodachi Kuno tended to get you killed. "I am here because I can protect myself if necessary."

"Where do your loyalties lay, Ifuku?" Akane asked suspiciously.

"There can be no question towards my loyalties." Ifuku bowed her head even lower than Akane could have thought possible. "I am loyal to the Saotome clan, and I am loyal to you."

"It's a direct clash," Akane murmured, looking at the bent head. "Your loyalties."

"No, Lady Akane, I was never loyal to Lady Kodachi." Akane was surprised to hear that. It was the first time she heard the names Akane and Kodachi spoken in the same sentence. It was the first time someone has faith enough to believe her. "I can't promise your victory, Lady Akane, but I can train you to survive. If I learned anything when I was young... I will teach you how to survive."

Akane placed her hand on Ifuku's shoulder. "Get up, Ifuku-san. You don't need to apologize. My temper has gotten away with me. I'm sure you can help me."

Then adopting the bow Ifuku used towards her Akane said reverently, "Ifuku-san, please train me."

-

In the trees, Hanae watched silently. Ifuku would keep Kodachi from being killed in a fight against her father. Although she was sure her father would never try to hit a girl... he had revised his philosophy regarding Kodachi after the first few beatings she delivered to the household help. She didn't know whether that was bad or good news. She stroked the cat she held silently. It looks like she might not learn swimming or gymnastics from Kodachi after all.

She set the cat down silently, another one cast away from Rose Brier. She wondered how long it was before an accident happened with the sudden population of the little critters.

As it scampered away, Hanae turned to go towards the house when Sei appeared and dropped another kitten at her side. "You know..."

He fell silent as he watched Ifuku and Akane run then turned to talk to his cousin. "I didn't know Ifuku-san could run as fast as she did."

"I didn't know she could run at all," Hanae answered as she turned towards the house, she paused for a minute wondering. "Should we tell anyone what we saw?"

"Kodachi learning to fight from Ifuku?" Sei thought about it for a moment then looked at Hanae inquiringly. "Does Ifuku-san know anything at all?"

"Apparently she has a great deal more endurance than Akane and judging from the way she runs, a great deal faster too." It was the only assessment she could give, other than that, Ifuku's skill was a mystery.

Peasants did not train in martial arts, what they know was just enough to keep them safe from robbers. If they were attacked by even low-class samurai, Hanae was sure that samurai would win. Of course... there were exceptions to the rule.

"Would Ifuku-san training Kodachi help in any way?" Sei asked, he was like his mother in that. He asked questions and rarely gave answers.

"Probably not. Ifuku-san doesn't know the style... and daddy is very skillful." There was worry in her voice although Sei was sure it wasn't for their father.

"Father will beat Kodachi regardless of training Ifuku-san gives. Will warning father accomplish anything but betraying the trust Kodachi gave you?" Kodachi would never know told Ranma about Ifuku's training, and Ranma would have never told Kodachi how he found out. But the children would know among themselves, and Sei wanted to keep Hanae's deceit to a minimum. Loyalties were a difficult thing to choose. "But we should probably tell father that Kodachi is training and her bruises are healing nicely."

Hanae nodded, she gave her complete trust to her cousin regarding matters that needed to be thought out. "Come on Sei-chan, before Sasuke finds out we're skipping Kyudo practice."

"We needed to get rid of cats," Sei grumbled as they turned to walk towards the house. "That's a good enough excuse for him."

* * *

Ranma walked back to Rose Brier late that night stumbling into the first steps of the house, barely slipping off his Chinese slippers, thoroughly exhausted from the fights of the border and his trip back. All he wanted to do was rest.

Of course, there were still things that were left unattended to and Sasuke's sudden appearance at the entrance reminded him of this. The ninja bowed and smiled as he began on a detailed report what has happened since his leave. The ninja's first attempts to do that startled Ranma, not expecting anybody to welcome his arrival. Now it became more natural, just as the people calling him lord and all other idiosyncrasies that came with Rose Brier.

"Sasuke, are the children still awake?" Ranma asked in a hushed tone, although the answer was already obvious. If the house was sleeping, within five minutes of his arrival at the border of Kamakura city samurai would have already gone ahead to rouse those who were asleep at Rose Brier. It was a custom he was sure he would never understand.

"They have been waiting for your arrival, Lord Ranma," he answered in the same hushed tones Ranma used, "The Lady Ko - Akane is waiting for the Lady Ranko, lord. It's the latest my lord has arrived since the attack at Hase."

"Yes, I had some trouble. Shizukama needed to be left at the border." Even though Sasuke was a ninja that lived inside the house Sasuke **still** didn't find out about their curses. It was uncanny and Ranma admitted to himself that he was sometimes scared of the seeming incompetence of the ninja. Still... it was an added bonus to the twin's part. "It's probably going to get worse. I'm going to leave for a few weeks. Ranko is going to stay here in my place until she switches place with Shizukama at the border."

"And Lady Nabiki?" Sasuke asked noticing Lady Nabiki's absence. "Where will she be?"

"She's doing something for me. We're trading places before the Yuigahama gathering," Ranma stated, wanting Sasuke to know the surface of his plans so he would not dig for more. Hopefully, that would keep his curiosity for a while. "Thank you, Sasuke."

The ninja bowed and disappeared into the night to do his other duties.

Hanae was the next person who found him, with a glass of water and a change of clothes. She smiled impishly. "Daddy, you should change before you see your wife."

Kneeling down beside the girl he patted her head. "I don't think the hallway is appropriate, Hanae. Come here, Sei."

The boy, who was slightly behind him, was not surprised at Ranma's beckon. It was obvious that Ranma already sensed his presence the second he had stepped to hide behind him, which was exactly when Hanae had smiled.

The boy bowed first then ran towards him to stand beside Hanae. "Good evening, father. Is mother coming home?"

"Good Evening, Sei. I'm afraid not." Ranma smiled, although he had not formally adopted Sei because of all the political ramifications of that move, Sei treated Ranma as a father. "Nabiki-chan has been detained for a while. I'll be handling most of your lessons while she's gone."

"Will the Yuigahama party still cn'tinue?" Hanae asked worriedly. It was something she always liked, even though she only heard stories of the happenings through her father and her aunt.

Ranma nodded as he stood up, carrying the two children in his arms easily, Hanae was still holding the kimono and glass. "Yes, Lord Happosai would be extremely disappointed if something happened to prevent it."

"Father, how long has Lord Happosai been head of the Saotome clan?" Sei asked curiously. It was a reasonable question, although Happosai looked like a venerated figure, he certainly was not. "It seems he has held that position for a thousand years and yet he has so few political ties."

"One hundred years, possibly more. The title is hereditary. Lord Happosai has made a lot of enemies, Sei," Ranma explained patiently to a boy who would be experiencing the old man's beckon soon enough, even if he chose his fortune outside Saotome territory. "A long life does create time for ties, but long enough to break them, too."

"Then I wish I would never live as long as Lord Happosai," Sei wished fervently. "If I ever hold the Clan I wish I won't be cursed to live as long."

"Me too," Hanae piped up, just as Ranma reached the front of their rooms. "Daddy, are we sleeping alr'dy?"

"Yes," Ranma answered as he put the children down in the hallway, patting the children's head he smiled as they tried to stifle identical yawns. "You two are tired and **I'm** the one training you tomorrow."

Both scampered to their rooms, Ranma went to visit Hanae first, as she pulled up her blanket towards herself he blew out the light of her lantern and stroked her forehead gently. "Good night, Hanae." He did the same thing to Sei as well.

He sighed as he headed for the furo. He certainly needed another bath. The trip was dusty, and far too long. The blood and his sweat mixed into his skin that he was sure a long scrubbing would still leave remnants of the trip.

'Nabiki was right, we should switch places. It's the wisest thing to do.' He just hoped he could pull of the part where he stayed as Ranko most of the time. The curse simply didn't follow any wish to curb it.

Sometimes he even wondered if it was sentient. Maybe it willed water to touch him. He had been lucky thus far. But for how long?

He also needed to deal with Kodachi. Anything Goes martial arts should remain to the Saotome name only. Such were the rules that Hanae and Nabiki, being women, are not allowed to show any part of the art to their husbands or their children.

Any ordinary adopted child was not allowed to learn the art, but being Nabiki's son, and being re-stated into the Saotomes though Ranma's guidance, made Sei special.

Hanae was that too, but Rian was an Amazon, and was entitled to the art. He couldn't very well give her back to the Amazons when his friend entrusted her to him. Besides, her record showed that he is her official father and only Cologne, Ranma and Hanae herself knew otherwise.

'When did my life start to get complicated?' He wondered, it certainly didn't seem so when he was younger, learning the art with Nabiki.

Maybe it was when he had married into the Kuno family. Wasn't Kodachi the root of all his problems? Maybe it was when he returned from China. Wasn't that when the fiancée wars started? Maybe it was when he and Nabiki won that battle. Wasn't that the whole reason they were sent away? Maybe it was when they were trained in the art. Wasn't that training a curse and a blessing as well?

Maybe it was even before that. Before he was born. The past has a way of searching you out. It is only a matter of time until it caught up. It was his time now. He was probably paying up for some past life. 'Karma,' he thought, then shook his head ruefully, for a Christian, he still thought back to his Buddhist and Shinto beliefs. He really didn't believe in Christianity that much, it was more of an order from Happosai that kept him from converting back rather than faith.

"Why do we have to wake up when he arrives anyway, Ifuku? It's not like he wakes up every time **we** come home."

Kodachi's firm but almost groggy voice startled him out of his reverie. He was surprised to hear her. He looked over his shoulder and saw that he already crossed the corridor towards what they branded as "her side of the house".

Though they moved rooms when he ordered it or when they were in danger, the servants were always instructed to have his quarters far from Kodachi's own, and separated by a long corridor. He already passed it and he barely noticed, 'I must really be tired.' His actions were never automatic unless he was thoroughly exhausted.

There was irritation in the voice. Kodachi in her best mood was hard to handle. Irritation was one of the many things that made her incorrigible. He did not want to deal with an overly distraught wife, not now. He wouldn't know how to handle her. He heard her demand through the shoji, "Would you **please** explain all of this? I'm confused enough as it is."

"My lady, it is customary that the lord arrive to an alert home." There was a sigh. Ranma, because he was already there, decided to enter the room. He changed his mind at the last minute, leaning against the paper-thin doors opposite Kodachi's own and listened to the conversation instead.

The shoji made listening in a joke and watching them a farce. The lantern that projected their shadows made him visualize the room to its exact detail. For someone who was trained to watch details, it was not a hard task. "It has been that way for our ancestors, as it is for you, as it will be to your descendants."

"My mother waited for my father to arrive, but it wasn't strict. He let her sleep when he arrived and she was tired waiting up for him coming home from work!" Kodachi retorted indignantly, Ranma thought she must not have come from a close knit family. "Honestly, when do we get to sleep? I'm not much of a night person myself."

"When my lord sleeps, the whole house may sleep, except for the samurai that guard the night," Ifuku explained, the shadows against the shoji suggested that Ifuku leaned to give Kodachi some tea. "We must wait 'till Sasuke tells us that the lord is asleep."

"I just wish that he'd sleep soon." There was a yawn that followed. Slightly exasperated she complained, "I can't imagine how I'm going to teach Hanae how to swim. Why can't Nabiki believe me when I tell her I can't even tread in water!"

"My lady will find a way to teach Lady Hanae," Ifuku reassured her, Kodachi fidgeted. Ranma looked at the shadows wearily, he knew Kodachi was an agile swimmer, and even if she cannot teach any martial art technique with swimming, she will be able to teach Hanae its basics. "I have my faith in my lady."

"Is... Is Ranko Hanae's mother?" it was a tentative question, and there was a tinge of... something in her voice that Ranma couldn't place. There was a pause, and Ranma waited expectantly for Ifuku's answer.

Ifuku was one of his most trusted servants, which was the reason he let Kodachi keep her as a maid. She was an invaluable vassal, a loyal girl. She was also one of the few people who knew about Ranko and Shizukama. Her answer would be interesting.

There was a pause as Ifuku regarded her lady's question and worded her answer carefully. "Is my lady not Hanae-san's mother?" Ifuku asked gently. "Is Ukyo-san not Hanae-san's mother?"

There was silence, and presumably a nod then Ifuku continued, "In a sense Lady Ranko is Hanae-san's mother. It does not matter who birthed her into this world, Lady Akane, it is who cares and loves her."

That was a surprise. It seems Kodachi has won Ifuku's trust as well. She started to call her Akane, and Ranma has not said anything about anybody calling her in that name. If Ranma was truly honest with himself, he knew he was beaten. He was losing the war that he pitted against his wife. Kodachi was slowly winning everyone.

"I guess you're right..." She sighed then let a tinge of irritation in her voice as she was reminded of the other girl. "Where **is** Ranko anyway?"

"Maybe with the Lady Nabiki," Ifuku offered. She managed to tell Kodachi his supposed whereabouts without revealing the curse.

There was small lag in their conversation and another yawn. "I really wish Ranma would sleep, I'm getting tired of waiting for him."

"My lady, forgive me if my question sounds impertinent..." Ranma tensed, Ifuku never asked for forgiveness before she did something. It must mean that she saw it as something wrong.

"Ask me, and I'll tell you," Kodachi answered, her answer suddenly as guarded as Ifuku's.

"Does my lady really feel nothing for my lord?" Ifuku asked, her hands reaching out for Kodachi's. Ranma frowned, his sudden softness regarding Kodachi must have been so evident for someone to comment on it.

"Oh, I do feel something for him," Kodachi answered lightly, Ranma stood there shocked, it was not the answer he expected from someone like her. "I **detest** him."

Now **that** was the answer he was expecting. So why did his heart feel so heavy all of a sudden? He looked at the room disgusted. This is what he got for listening in, especially to people like Kodachi.

He eyed the kimono and the water that he held in his hands. He turned towards his room, his want for the furo gone. He could take his bath in the morning. As filthy as he was, he wasn't going to rouse the maids to fetch the water, and he certainly wasn't going to cross the room to ask Ifuku for soap.

He didn't **need** to sleep in Kodachi's room in the first place. Ranko was the one who swore, and he wasn't Ranko at the moment.

-

The Lady Akane, Ifuku sensed, was in a foul mood. She was roused from her three-hour sleep because of the late arrival of Lord Ranma and was feeling rather distasteful that Lady Ranko was nowhere to be found. All of this she blamed on their lord.

So rationally, now was not the time to ask the Lady Akane for her feelings towards Lord Ranma. She was obviously angry and such a question would only provoker her. But Ifuku wanted to know and she would not get a better opportunity than that night.

Thinking she calmed the lady enough, Ifuku tensed as she asked the question that she wanted to be answered for so long. "Oh, I do feel something for him." Ifuku's heart soared, because it could only mean that her Lord has hope and that... "I **detest** him."

Ifuku's high spirits plummeted almost immediately. Apparently, she was wrong. Either Lady Akane **wasn't** calmed down enough or... she **didn't** love her lord. She was wishing it was more of the former rather than the latter.

Her soft ears picked up a small rustle in the shoji, a sound almost muted to silence, that she was not sure if she imagined it or not. Her heart skipped a beat. There were only a few people in the whole household whose footsteps were almost indiscernible through the tatami.

A good number of those she could sense were servants as herself, but from the lightness of the tread, she was sure it was samurai. There were few reasons why samurai would mis-step like that.

One reason would probably be her lady's declaration of hate towards the lord.

"What is it Ifuku?" Akane asked, sensing the abrupt silence from her maid. "Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing, my lady. It's probably the wind... Would my lady excuse me?" Ifuku whispered when Akane nodded, she stood up going over to the shoji peering at it closely, "I see something near the shoji."

Ifuku moved towards the door, certain that she would find nothing of importance, sliding it noiselessly aside. She hid her sorrowful expression she saw what was there, bending over she picked up the items left by her lady's door.

"What is it, Ifuku?" Akane asked.

Turning around slowly Ifuku showed her the sleeping kimono that Ranko usually wore folded neatly in her hands and a cup of cool water. Akane frowned at this, not understanding what the items meant.

"I thought Ranko was with Nabiki."

"She is," Ifuku answered, knowing then for sure that the Lady Ranko would not be sleeping at Lady Akane's room that night. "It must be Sasuke, his signal for the Lord's sleep."

"His... signal?" Akane repeated.

Sasuke appeared shortly then nodded to her and bowed to Akane.

"Yes, Lady Akane, Lord Ranma has retired to his quarters," Ifuku whispered, Akane nodded as she greeted a cheery good night and for the second time, retired to her futon.

Ifuku bowed slowly to her lady then moved out of the room to her adjoining quarters, but sleep would be longer in coming than that of her lady. Because she knew something her lady did not know. She knew the truth behind those items.

'Lord Ranma has heard the worst from my lady...' Ifuku thought as she stared at the dark ceiling, 'It could be the only reason why he left that.' She frowned, sure that Ranko would not step over towards the other side of the house, where Akane resided.

But the implications on Ranma's part were also clear to Ifuku. Her lord would not have been hurt if he felt nothing for her lady. And her lady would not have protested so vehemently if she truly loathed her lord.

To her eyes, the two led such a tragic love that was almost as painful to watch.

Ifuku sighed, every time Lord Ranma and Lady Akane seemed to find something to bring them closer to one another, something drove them infinitely apart. 'Karma, maybe theirs truly was destined to be a arduous love.'

* * *

Ifuku went about cleaning the room humming in a pleasant tone that her mother sang to her when she was a child. Two of the younger servants were cleaning the shoji. Their happy chatter distracted her, but brought her memories of how she learned to be what she was now.

"Lady Akane had a fight with Lord Ranma and Lady Nabiki yesterday," the smaller one said in a hushed tone. Ever since Lady Akane's amnesia, everyone had their share of gossip. Even the young ones enjoyed whatever they saw.

"Well, Lady Nabiki won against her," the older one, Sara if Ifuku wasn't mistaken, spoke. She didn't mind their loose tongue. Everyone has a right to speculate. "I think Lady Akane wanted to redeem herself. Lady Nabiki did manage to humiliate her in front of Lord Sei and Lady Hanae."

"How can she redeem herself if she claims the name Tendo? It doesn't really make sense."

Ifuku's head shot up at the name, dropping the blankets that she was preparing to store. She turned to look at the children who peeked in to find out what was wrong.

"What did you say?" Ifuku asked in the calmest manner she could muster. The children just stared at her blankly, not knowing what she was referring to. "What was that name Lady Akane said?"

"Tendo, Ifuku-san. It was Tendo."

Ifuku paled at the words. She did not mishear. 'What could she know?' Ifuku thought as she stood up murmuring an excuse to the children and asked them to finish cleaning Lady Akane's room for her.

When she was sure the children were busying themselves with the task, she went towards Lady Nabiki's room and took the inkwell and brush, while swiping some paper as she scribbled a note.

She wondered how Lady Akane could know of the house, but if the Saotomes didn't know if it by now, they would try to learn of it later. The Tendos... they were far from the sphere of influence. How could they possibly hear of the house?

Rolling the paper quickly, she stole out of the room quietly praying that she would have a chance to send it in time.

-

Cologne walked back to a place she never thought she would visit again. For all the bad blood between her kind and the twins, she'd never thought that she would come back to Japan to seal an alliance with the Saotome Clan for the Joketsuzoku.

It was desperate times, and for them to need outside help to survive -- it was desperate times. She needed a place for her great-granddaughter to learn. Only the Saotomes came to mind. They were the only ones who could wake Shampoo up. It was a long shot, but she needed her great-granddaughter back.

Already the girl looked dejected. The nearer they approached Rose Brier, the more she frowned. She looked down at her feet rather than straight ahead, which was a sign the girl was still demoralized. Cologne didn't know if the trip to Japan made matters better or worse for the girl.

Expecting Nabiki to greet her by the gates of Rose Brier, it came as a surprise when it was Ranma -- in his cursed form -- who bowed and welcomed her in. It was unnatural for the man to be the one who welcomed such visitors and it wasn't much of a shock that he did so as a girl.

"Good day, Matriarch Kuh Lon." Ranma-chan gave her a deep bow, which she returned, then turning to Shampoo she bowed in greeting again. "Good day, Xian Pu. Welcome to Rose Brier. What makes you venture to these parts?"

"Is there any other reason why we would go to Rose Brier, Ranko-chan?" Ranma would not find out the reason of their stay, and she just left the answer to the boy's imagination.

"Could I offer the ladies... something?" Ranma-chan just shook her head as she entered the house with Cologne. It was apparent to Cologne that even though he has the time to get used to his girl from, he did not train much in how one should act, especially when receiving guests.

It looked Nabiki still received guests for him and managed most of his household. He has a long way to go in learning the arts of hospitality. Cologne declined his offer graciously and so did Shampoo. "And how is your lovely wife?"

"I don't have a wife," Ranma-chan answered lightly guiding them towards a room where they could talk. "Though if you are asking of Lord Ranma, he is by the border of the Sagami, by the Yuigahama shore."

'So they decided to keep the curse from the household of Rose Brier, just as what they did in their house in Nerima. The twins traded places. Who else would be at the beach if not for Nabiki? Ranma wouldn't tell me something like that if one of them wasn't there.' The information was of some significance. "And the Lady Kodachi?"

"Sick with a mild cold." Ranma opened the shoji that led to the garden for some of the fresh air to come in, taking some of the zabuton(1) she offered it to them. "She seemingly forgot how to swim."

"It would be of great pleasure if Hanae and Nabiki's son grace us with their presence." Cologne answered as she looked at Ranma-chan closely, gauging her expression. It didn't change.

Taking a small bell from inside the folds of her obi, Ranma-chan raised it and rang it several times. The moment she stopped ringing, a young girl arrived and bowed once towards her then at the two guests. "What is it Lady Ranko?"

"Please call Sei and Hanae." After Ranma gave the order, the servant bowed and left, only to return in a short while with the two children then bowed again to leave. Cologne turned her attention to the new arrivals.

Sei held a distinct resemblance to his mother and a small resemblance to his uncle. At five, he was already a charming lad. Although from what she learned, Sei took more of his appearance from his father's side.

Hanae, as she expected, was the exact image of her mother. Except for the long red locks that she had neatly tied in a pony-tail, Cologne could just imagine staring at her lost heir. Hanae's resemblance to Shampoo could not go unnoticed as well, and she wondered how long it would take for her heir to notice that the young girl in front of her was an Amazon.

"Elder Kuh Lon, Xian Pu, the young Lord Sei and Lady Hanae of the House Saotome," Ranma introduced the children as they bowed to the Amazon guests. "Sei, Hanae, I would like you to meet the Honored Matriarch Kuh Lon and her heir and great-granddaughter, Xian Pu from the Joketsuzoku."

Hearing this, Hanae's eyes widened in surprise and delight but refrained from clapping. Sei remained as passive just like Nabiki when she had been introduced to Cologne the first time. The boy really did take up after his mother after all.

"Great-grandmother... she..." Shampoo's voice trailed off. Cologne nodded in affirmation to the unstated question. The girl did not notice the similarity to Rian from the portrait, but upon seeing her close, its implications dawned on her. A hurt look crossed her face as she stood up. "May I be excused?"

She didn't wait for a yes and fled down the hallway, leaving Ranma and the two children confused at the sudden departure. Cologne just gazed off after her, a soft and rare frown appearing on her face as she thought about Shampoo's departure.

"Uh... was it something I said?" Ranma-chan asked, uneasily switching her gaze from Shampoo to Cologne. "I--"

Shaking her head, Cologne sighed. She thought Shampoo was better than this. Jumping to conclusions was one thing an elder of the Amazon Village needed to do away with. "She thinks you betrayed her."

"What?"

Through the years, Ranma's denseness towards the other sex became an amusing show that she indulged in but at times like this, it was a rather painful task of explanation. It was a wonder that his sister was so keen at it. Because she didn't want to blurt out Shampoo's feelings to everyone in the room, Cologne spoke softly in Chinese, " _She thinks you're Hanae's father._ "

There was a moment of confusion before understanding dawned on Ranma-chan as she stood up to go after his friend. Cologne's outstretched staff stopped him in an instant. "What? I have to go after her, she doesn't understand..."

"Let her think first," Cologne advised, withdrawing her staff from Ranma's path. "Then talk to her, she might be more receptive to the truth after she has time for herself. For the moment, I want to see your students perform, neh?"

* * *

Sobbing, Shampoo ran, she found solace in the forest, the only place in Japan she could picture as her home. Even a few months off mainland China brought a heaviness in her heart that she knew was from homesickness.

She missed China already. Yet she missed Ranma most of all, no, she missed their times together when they were young. Those were carefree times where she sought his hand or his sister's head.

She jumped up to one of the trees and sat on its branches, pouring her heart out. Her nails clinging on to the soft fabric of her dress, her tears making dark splotches against the beautiful red silk, not minding that she would probably get reprimanded for ruining such a prized gift from her cousin.

All this years she thought that even if Ranma didn't love her, even if he didn't believe in the laws, that he had at least been honest with her. That he told her the truth.

She fast learned that Ranma Saotome's word was worth nothing at all.

He told her he wouldn't marry, because he didn't and couldn't. His **honor** demanded that he marry all the girls he was engaged to, and he never wanted that... which resulted to the fiancée wars. Yet he married Kodachi Kuno in a blink, someone who he wasn't **engaged** to in the first place.

It was a slap in the face she could not and would not take. That was the reason she returned to China. The humiliation he forced her to endure was too great for her to remain in Japan. She tried to attack Kodachi Kuno, blindly tried to kill the woman who stole her love from her, but Ranma defended her. Even if he showed nothing but contempt towards Kodachi. Even if he loathed her.

Then he swore that he did not break the law, that she has as much chance as Rian in his heart. Then he slept with Rian. How else could the child look so much like her cousin? She was convinced Hanae was indeed her cousin's daughter, and the red hair proved that she was her father's.

He twisted the knife that was already sticking out to her back and it hurt her far more than she wanted to admit. Because after all this time of loathing Ranma, the most terrible realization came with her tears... that she still loved the man.

Damn him, Ranma was a liar... and yet she still loved him. He betrayed her... and she still loved him... 'What am I going to do?'

'I'm nothing but a lovesick puppy.' Shampoo thought, her sobs racking her whole body and moving the branch she was sitting on violently, 'I'm no better than that idiotic Mousse who pines away for me. At least he lives in his own dream world. I don't even have the comfort of oblivion.'

Her crying seemed to last forever, until someone tapped her shoulder, sitting down beside her in the branch. She didn't turn to look who it was, she knew for certain it was **him**. Who else could it be?

"Hey, Shampoo..." he murmured softly... he had changed back to his male form before he had caught up with her.

"Hey..." Shampoo's voice broke off, she couldn't think of anything else to say. Anything more threatened to spill more of the tears that were lurking behind her eyes and she vowed not to let him see her pain. For the moment silence seemed to be enough.

He smiled at her, just as she remembered back when they were young. He was still as handsome as he was six years ago. Her heart shot up the unmistakable pain of longing through her body that she hoped to squelch but could not. "Did Cologne tell you anything... after I got married?"

"No..." Shampoo's eyes traveled to his shirt, a small chain with a cross was imprinted through the thin wet top. It was an unfamiliar object that Shampoo did not see him wear before, and it bore implications she did not want to think about at the moment. "Grandmamma chooses to tell things when thinks Shampoo is ready."

Her Japanese was better, but still not flawless. "What you follow me here for?"

"It's getting late..."

Shampoo turned to look at the sky. The sun has indeed set. She must have been out longer than she thought. But she has all the time in the world. She needn't hurry back to the village, no one was waiting for her there, and she needn't go back to the house, for the only one she wanted to have did not want her. "I no need your concern."

It was one of those times that Ranma wisely decided to keep his mouth shut, opting to watch her silently. Shampoo just stared on the grass below her stoically. Finally, deciding that the conversation would go nowhere she breached the topic she did not want to discuss. Speaking in Chinese so that she could express her feelings adequately she asked, " _Is my cousin Hanae's mother?_ "

"She is."

Shampoo's slap rang across the night, it was the first time she has ever tried to intentionally hit him in his boy form, and the first time she has ever meant it. This was no longer a game of two sixteen year olds, they were adults, it was time they came to the real world. Accusation was laden in her cool eyes. "Why?"

"Why what?" Ranma asked his eyes not leaving Shampoo's. His hand didn't even come up to his defense, and Shampoo knew that he let her slap him. It troubled her to no end. Ranma never let anyone intentionally hit him before, no one.

" _Why did you do it?_ "

" _Because Rian was a friend._ "

" _I'm your friend too and you don't see me sleeping with you!_ " Shampoo looked at him, tears streaming down her face. Her resolve not to cry broken by his confused state, she desperately wanted to believe that he did not betray her, but knew that he has.

The last she heard of her cousin was that she married a samurai... too many coincidences. " _How is she?_ "

Ranma averted his gaze. There were some things bound too much by secrecy that it cannot be parted with, even with close friends. " _As best as she could be... I guess._ "

" _How is your consort, then? _" there was steel in her voice. " _Great-grandmother talked to Nabiki before we went home, I never got the chance to see her. To know her. All I know is that you have one._ "

There was a puzzled look in Ranma's face that Shampoo grew to despise, she did not know that he was **that** good at deception, maybe he learned from his sister. " _I don't -- oh... you must be talking about **Ranko**_. "

Ranko? Who the hell? Wasn't this where he was supposed to admit that he took Rian in? " _No! I mean my cousin!_ "

"You think I took Rian as a consort?" he asked perplexed.

" _Isn't she?_ "

"No!" the denial was too vehement and automatic to be fake.

" _Then Hanae's father... _"

" ... _is dead._ "

" _Then who--_ "

" _I'm not allowed to tell anybody too much._ " Ranma sighed as he looked at her, " _The fact that you know I'm not really Hanae's father will already get me into too much trouble..._ "

" _You don't have to tell me anything,_ " Shampoo said as she turned to watch the scene below. It was not much and merely foliage, but she found it interesting at the moment. It was better than to look at Ranma's pleading eyes, because she knew that if she looked at him, her resolve would break, and she'd find herself desperately wanting to kiss him just as she had when they were young. "_ Please leave me_. "

He seemed like he wanted to say more to her, but he didn't continue past his open mouth. He nodded and left her to her thoughts. His departure was almost as silent as his arrival, leaving her to ponder on her thoughts once more.

How did Rian's hate for him turn to love? How did hers? They were mere children, she was twelve and Rian fifteen when they met... and far too young...

--------------------

"_ Do I sense a touch of resentment, cousin? _" Shampoo asked in Mandarin as she walked along the palace gardens. Rian was sent under the Imperial Palace to train when she was twelve, and had been staying there for three years. She has never been defeated, and it smarted for an outsider to do so. The fact that Ranma really was a **man** rankled even more.

And for Rian, who prided herself as heir, to be beaten by a man with such a handicap as Ranma at that time... the implications did not sit well with her. Rian found herself in a constant irritable mood which Shampoo exploited every chance she got.

Rian's dagger was pointed at Shampoo quickly, not a threat, but a warning nonetheless. Rian seems to think Shampoo overstepped her boundaries. " _Do not insult me again! I am the best of **our** generation! The only reason you won that tournament is that I am here. I do not think a match will yield you good results._ "

Rian also has no sense of humor. It was probably because she was so young when she was taken away to live in the main city, and so driven by her mentors to be the best that she forgot the basics: how to laugh and be a child. Rian was forced to grow up so soon, so quickly. Shampoo pushed the dagger away. " _I was merely joking._ "

Rian sheathed her dagger quickly, it was one of her most prized possessions and she guarded it as jealously, as she did her honor. Shampoo noted her cousin liked to put the weapon in her hair. The thickness and her hair color hid it well. " _Jest all you like, I do not like to be defeated by a man._ "

" _You do not **want** to be defeated, period._ " Shampoo stopped then turned to face Rian. Asking understanding from her cousin she said, " _Do you think **I** like being beaten by the lower class?_ "

" _Maybe. I don't know. I've been away from the village for far too long._ " She continued to walk even though Shampoo just stared at her, they needed to tell their great-grandmother what happened. " _Maybe the time has robbed you of your warrior's pride._ "

Pride was something that was dominant in all Amazon women... especially undefeated champions. But then, they were undefeated champions no longer. Nothing lasts forever. Defeat has always been something that loomed in the future. Amazons just didn't train to lose, that's why it came as such a hard blow -- then again... who trained to lose anyway?

It was then that the person she previously known as the red-haired girl-- now appropriately dubbed Ranma -- walked across the garden, with a girl, presumably his twin sister, by his side. It came as a surprise to the two Amazons that it was the boy of the two that wore his hair long rather than the other way around.

Rian watched them through guarded eyes. " _Is that Ranma's uncursed form?_ "

" _Yes_. " There were no formal introductions. The emperor thought it wise for the two parties not to associate with each other just yet. She has to admit, Ranma was good looking and his sister seemed like a strong enough warrior...

" _I don't think I'll manage to fall in love with him, _" Rian said disgusted then turned towards the gates of the palace, the roads that would lead to the end of the city and the trail to the village. "_ I'm thankful he bested you first._ "

Shampoo looked at the two walk towards the garden, they were laughing at something they saw by the cherry trees. " _You don't know ... maybe he'll manage to surprise you. I'm starting to like him, and that's just by looking._ "

" _I will **never** love him._ " With that Rian turned to report to the village, jumping from roof to roof. Shampoo looked at her for a while before she followed.

--------------------

'Oh, Rian,' Shampoo thought as she closed her eyes, they were cousins, friends and rivals at the same time. She watched Rian fall in love with Ranma, watched her change her attitude towards him. How could she not? Ranma was a man easy to love.

He was a naïve, sweet and terribly uncouth boy that certainly endeared him to both of their hearts. He has his share of faults, but no one was perfect.

They lived in a village where every woman was above any man, he lived in a country where every man was superior to women. They were so different, and yet on the fleeting moments they trained they were the same. Battle was an equalizer of men. They stood on equal ground... and the moment they parted everything changed.

Both Rian and Shampoo actively pursued him but they each had different reasons for doing it. Rian always wanted to bash him more than hug him, and Shampoo was the one who constantly tried -- and succeeded -- to kiss him.

Somehow... in the middle of the frenzy, Rian's barrier of hate crumbled. They said there was a thin line between love and hate, Rian crossed the final lines and her growing love for Ranma, hurt Shampoo more than she cared to admit. Rian increasingly tried to kill him more because it kept her on the edge, knowing that she would never win rather than truly maiming him. Ranma was a great sparring partner, and so was his sister. Both were extremely challenging on their own fields.

Then... Rian disappeared... with only minuscule clues to her whereabouts.

... And now ...

'You lied to me too.'

* * *

Ifuku walked past the samurai, her hands almost shaking. If anybody ever found out what she was doing, she would die. They would kill her regardless of what her reasons were, regardless of her longstanding loyalty to the clan.

She was sacrificing her life for a secret that she never wanted in the first place. She entered the pigeon house without question from the samurai. The pigeons fluttered restlessly at her entrance.

Bringing out the small rolled parchment she kept beneath her robes, she placed it on one of the cylinders and set the bird free. Sending out a small prayer for its safety, Ifuku closed the windows and leaned against its frame.

From the moment she heard of the fight that morning between the Saotomes, she had been in a perpetual state of worry. She knew how these people worked... If he did not get it in time... they might have no chance at all.

"What did you send out?"

Ifuku didn't turn quickly, now her life depended on her ability to stick to the truth without revealing too much... to lie if necessary. To lie to the people who took care of her since her childhood. She took a deep breath to compose herself. "A letter, what else?"

"I'm not playing games, Ifuku-san. What did you send out?" If Ifuku was not sure who it was before, she knew now. She turned slowly around to look at Omokage. She cursed for her incompetence.

"Can I not send a letter to my husband?" She needed to retain their trust, because most of all, she needed to survive.

There was uncertainty in Omokage's eyes. That would buy her some time, but would that time be enough? "I did not know you have a husband."

"No one has ever asked," it was the most subversive voice she ever used. 'Sohin, Be safe. I just need some more time before he can warn any other samurai. A few more minutes before that pigeon flies free.'

"No one needed to ask. You grew up here!" his accusation was as loud as any slap her mother could have given her. She made a mistake, she should have known to tell more people about her wedding, but she was a peasant.

She heard the faint sound of running and she knew this could only end with her death. Her jailers have come to arrest her. A samurai barged in, the dead bird in his hands. It was her last chance of survival.

Omokage got the bird and opened the small cylinder with the letter in it. He read it aloud, "Sohin, Lady Nabiki searches for answers regarding the Tendos. Please tell her what you know -- your wife, Ifuku."

"Is there something in my letter that displeases you?" Ifuku asked as she watched him, she dare not let a smile play on her face. She was not out of trouble yet.

"Do you know what would happen if this falls in enemy territory?" Omokage demanded as he threw the dead bird at her feet. "You're lucky our archers were astute. Lord Ranma and Lady Nabiki always inform samurai if they send out anything. Lady Nabiki handles the letters, and she isn't home at the moment."

"Gomenasai, Omokage-san. I was not thinking." Ifuku proceeded to kneel in the most abject manner possible and bowed before him. "May I ask who the Lady Nabiki has asked for information for the Tendos?"

"Why do you wish to know something that is not of your concern?"

"Because my husband would be the perfect spy for her," Ifuku answered, murmuring her words through the tatami. 'Please let him agree with me.' "Let my husband look into the matter."

"Why have you not told Lady Nabiki of this yourself?"

"I was afraid that she might not agree."

Ifuku dared not to look up at his face. "Lady Nabiki is very intelligent. Her refusal of your offer will have good reasons." He was by her side in a second and he lifted her face off the mat. "You've been here as long as I have Ifuku. Are you willing to lose everything you've ever held for a gamble?"

"I have faith in my husband," Ifuku answered as she stared at Omokage's eyes. She willed acceptance in his eyes. He needed to believe in her for her message to be relayed. He needed to understand her if she was to have a chance for her life instead of an order for her death. "He will not let me down."

Omokage turned towards the samurai who shot down the bird, and for a moment, she thought he was going to order her death. "Deliver this letter to her husband."

Ifuku almost cried at his words. He trusted her. She thanked the gods. "It is fortunate that he is currently in the Temple of Gokurakuji. He will be accompanying a boy and his foster mother. Just ask the monks for him."

As the man left for the day's journey, he paused to look at Omokage, when he nodded he left. Ifuku turned to Omokage and bowed again. "Arigato gozaimashita, Omokage-san," it was the most abject of all the words of gratitude.

She could feel his gaze upon her. "Do not thank me yet, Ifuku. If anything happens to that samurai. If that man of yours doesn't push through with that information... I will have to kill you."

"You don't need to do that, Omokage-san." She intended to die first before anybody else reached her. She wasn't going to be a pawn in this game. She didn't know if he understood her intentions or not, but he let it rest.

"When does your husband leave the temple grounds?"

She knew where the questioning was going to lead... but to lie now... "A week from now."

"And when do you take your yearly leave, Ifuku-san?"

She hoped her voice would not break. "A week from now."

"And this is something you do yearly?"

"Yes, Omokage-san." She waited for the next question, but it did not come. Omokage was intelligent enough to put two and two together. If he ever decided to tell the Saotomes she was meeting Sohin behind their back, she didn't know what would happen to her. The Saotomes knew mercy, but would they think her case was worth it?

He left as soundlessly as he came in. Ifuku's head shot up from the tatami, her under kimono sticking to her sweaty flesh. The encounter scared her more than she cared to admit. Omokage would not tell Lady Nabiki what she committed that evening, because he let her escape. She just hoped Sohin would push through for her.

* * *

A full month later Nabiki-kun headed home and was more than surprised to find Kodachi with a bowl of **something,** for a lack of better term to call it, badly cooked on a small lacquered tray. Nabiki-kun gulped at Kodachi's more than eager eyes.

The last time she managed to eat Kodachi's cooking, she enjoyed the savory taste, but was paralyzed for half a day. Now it seemed she wouldn't even manage to have the small luxury of her taste buds being intact.

"Ranma! I made this dish for Nabiki's return. Want a taste?" Kodachi piped eagerly as she offered the small bowl to her. Nabiki flinched at the burnt smell and Ranma-chan, who was actually leaning on one of the paper doors, was languidly watching the exchange.

In the fiancée wars, the twins have been served everything and endured all from each one of their suitors. One of the things that didn't sit well with Nabiki was that Kodachi was one of the best cooks the fiancée wars produced and she was damned set on poisoning them as well.

Mostly it was Ranma who was the hapless victim of the girl... but since she quite **conveniently** forgot everything and she was currently in Ranma's form, her timing couldn't have been worse.

"Maybe we should wait for Nabiki," Nabiki-kun suggested as he raised his eyebrow questioningly at the substance. Whatever it was, prolonging its way to his stomach seemed to her, a better idea.

Kodachi smiled pleasantly. "You know Ranko just said that. You both must hold Nabiki in high regard."

Nabiki-kun looked at his twin who was looking at anywhere but at him. She decided that he was probably getting his revenge from all those times she pretended to be him with one of her fiancés. She usually said she loved the taste of the food which, more often than not, was more unappetizing than mud.

Kodachi pulled on his arm. "Is it such a bad idea to eat with your wife?" There was a pleading glint in her eyes and her tone was so pitiful, Nabiki almost gave up.

"Actually," Nabiki started as she turned towards the rooms looking at Ranma meaningfully. "Maybe we could..."

Ranma-chan's eyes widened, not really knowing what Nabiki was implying, then pulled him away from Kodachi's grip "Ahh... hehehe, Na - Ranma?" Ranma always stammered and forgot to call her by his name when he was nervous. It was a good sign. "Could I speak to you for a minute? Don't worry Kodachi, I'll return him to you just as **soon** as we have **that** talk."

Kodachi started to say something, but Ranma managed to drag Nabiki away before either could protest. When Ranma managed to get them by the dojo ground she frowned at him sternly. "Really, Nabiki."

"What? **You** started it." Nabiki-kun crossed his arms against the dirty silk shirt he wore. What she truly wanted was a nice bath and a long soak in the furo... a very hot furo and her **female** form rather than fighting with her brother -- currently sister.

"It **is** a bad idea to eat with my wife," Ranma lectured sternly as she walked around. "And you know it."

"I don't know, brother," Nabiki drawled out rather lazily as he noted the nice flowery black kimono Ranma was wearing. Nabiki has to admit that Ranma could choose the drabbest clothes and still look gorgeous in his female form. "It seems you like spending time with her, why else wear her clothes?"

Nabiki knew that retort was rather below the belt but hell would freeze over before he backed down. Kodachi was still the violent maniac, mellowed out probably, but still a maniac. "We already had this conversation."

"Are you sure that's the reason, brother?" Nabiki murmured softly as he looked into Ranma's troubled blue eyes that dimmed slightly at the statement... in his female form they were so much lighter. "Or are you just making excuses?"

Ranma didn't know how to answer to that accusation, but didn't avert her eyes from his. "You're starting to doubt me?"

"No, merely trying to question you. One doesn't necessarily mean the other." Whatever anybody said, Nabiki was loyal to her family first and her brother the most. To see him make a mistake over Kodachi for the second time around would devastate her. "It's my job."

"Let's not get into this whole Kodachi issue, Nabiki. For the first time in weeks, you're home. How was Yuigahama?" Her hand balled into a fist. "Can the old lech still hold his party there?"

"If the old man wants something..." Nabiki trailed off, there was no need to continue, the end was apparent. They heard the discreet shuffling of feet and turned towards the house. In a few moments, Kodachi appeared holding out what seemed to be two identical letters.

From the wax seal outside the letters, both knew exactly who the summons came from before they even held it. "Ranma, it seems to be an invitation of some sort." On the back of the letters, Ranma's name was scrawled in kanji and Nabiki's in hiragana, both with their appropriate honorfics. Kodachi handed them both to Nabiki-kun.

Looking at them, Nabiki rolled her eyes then handed her invitation to Ranma. "Here, open Nabiki's letter for me."

"Where did it come from, Ranma?" Kodachi asked Nabiki eagerly, Nabiki just wondered if she could point out the woman in the right direction then and there. It was perplexing to know that Kodachi thought of her cursed state as her husband. She pretended to be her brother often enough and received several looks from other females, but Kodachi's advances made her skin crawl. She did not want to go to the point where Kodachi starts flirting. If and when that happens, she was going to set the woman straight regardless of their orders.

The twins sighed in an identical manner and opened the letters that was handed to them scanning it and confirming their suspicions. On the bottom of the letter was Happosai's hanko(2) in red ink.

"Well?" Kodachi asked expectantly, raising her eyebrow meaningfully.

Nabiki handed her the invitation. "It's from our liege lord."

"I, Happosai of the Tokaido head of the Saotome Clan and Lord of Musashi, request the presence of Saotome Ranma-noh-Tetsuma, Lord of Sagami, as acting heir of the Founding School of the Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu, on the nijūyokka day of Hazuki to attend the Yuigahama Saotome clan meeting." Kodachi looked up from the letter to Nabiki pursing her lips. "Hazuki nijūyokka -- Hachi-gatsu –- August twenty-four. That's next month. Will you be going?"

Nabiki paused at the list of names Kodachi mentioned, recognizing hachi as the number eight if not the next words after. "Are you dull, Kodachi? Or do you just really like to get on my nerves?" Nabiki asked truthfully, her patience was always lacking with Kodachi. "Is an order something so difficult to comprehend?"

"There was nothing said about orders."

"Of course not." Nabiki breathed in deeply, and began to explain, "It's impolite to state that out on paper, but it's what this is. Happosai doesn't **invite** you to somewhere, he **commands** you there."

The Yuigahama meeting has always been for further discussion of the clan, maybe a little mingling. It's for the clan to know the situation of the Saotome holdings. The Tokaido is a large area and significant land was hard to protect.

"It is an honor reserved only for the daimyo of the different land Happosai controls," Nabiki said as she took Ranma's invitation from Kodachi's hands. "Few are able to attend."

"It's an order and now an honor?"

"An order can always be an honor. It is always an honor to perform for your liege lord," Ranma said quoting Cologne on one of her lectures. "Of course, it doesn't necessarily mean you have to like it."

It was then that Cologne decided to walk in on the three of them, holding a similar parchment in her hands. "Ahh... son-in-law, it is good you have not forgotten your lessons, no matter how long ago it has been taught."

The twins both grunted, Kodachi was just bewildered that Cologne called Ranko son-in-law but Nabiki bowed before she could voice out anything. "I wasn't informed of your arrival, Matriarch Kuh Lon. Is there something I can do for you?"

The old woman just smiled as she held out her hand out to Nabiki. "You look exactly like the day I left you. Haggard and **male**." At Kodachi's dumbfounded look Cologne turned to Nabiki and raised an eyebrow. "I take it there are some things of significance your brother has forgotten to tell me."

Ranma shifted uneasily twirling the letter in her hands signifying the state of her nerves, Kodachi still looked bewildered and Nabiki wondered when she would catch on about the curses. By the hints the old woman was dropping, she should have at least found out something suspicious. "It depends on what was said."

"We'll discuss it after a hot bath, proper change of clothes **and** body parts." Cologne nodded, then added a wink for effect. Had it not been their Jusenkyo secret under scrutiny, Nabiki would have found the mere idea of Cologne doing the said things amusing. Cologne turned to Kodachi, finally acknowledging her presence. "And who is this, son-in-law?"

"Matriarch Kuh Lon, it seems you have forgotten Saotome Kodachi, the Lady of Rose Brier," Nabiki answered for her brother. Cologne didn't bat an eyelash. "Kodachi, meet Cologne, the Amazon Matriarch."

"Ahh, the lovely girl my son-in-law has fallen in love with." Cologne laughed a little as she looked at her up and down, it was a teasing gesture rather than an appraising look. "You seem different from the last time I saw you, Kodachi."

"I'm a completely different person, now -- matriarch." From her hesitation, Nabiki knew Kodachi was unsure as how to address the three-foot shriveled up woman. It was hard to conjure up respect for someone who barely came up to your hips. Nabiki-kun noted she didn't comment on the 'fallen in love' part.

Cologne looked at her intently and nodded, taking her time to answer, "So it seems. At least I can rest assured my great-granddaughter lost to a fair match?"

The unease never left the twins' faces. Cologne suspected that much of what she was saying was striking chords. Sore ones. The two were just too proud to tell her to back off. That or they really were masochists.

"Umm.. excuse me? What fair match?" Kodachi seemed genuinely puzzled.

Cologne turned to Ranma. "Are you planning to tell me why our dear Kodachi is the curious sort today, or will you keep me guessing?"

"Kodachi claims she has amnesia," Ranma answered promptly.

"Amnesia?" Cologne raised her eyebrow and appraised the girl. She stopped, then searching her pockets, pulled out a shampoo labeled 110. She threw it to Ranma-chan, who caught it instinctively. She smiled mischievously. "You do remember the Xai Fang Gao technique, don't you? Ever since that little incident, I've always kept the remedy close at hand."

Nabiki's eyes widened at the sight of the bottle. How could they forget?

--------------------

Nabiki shielded her eyes from the sun as she touched her hair. She felt somewhat...refreshed. As if she just took a bath. A persistent voice in the back of her head told her that she was doing something important, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember what it was.

Standing up from the small forest, Nabiki decided that it was time to get to the palace. She was sure Cologne would give another one of those lectures about being late and she wasn't in the mood to listen to the old woman drone on.

Someone walking beside her, following her towards the palace interrupted her brooding. She didn't so much as mind his company, more than that he seemed to remind her of something she couldn't put her finger on.

He waited until they reached the city gates before he spoke, "So, what happened, Nabiki? Did you win?"

That stopped her on her tracks, wondering how a stranger could know her name. She was sure she knew everyone around the palace, even the maids. A commoner outside the palace couldn't possibly know who she was. She was a palace secret. A Chinese commoner wouldn't know Japanese.

"That bad, huh?" he prodded with a small smile.

There was a small click, and Nabiki remembered what the boy was asking her. She had been fighting with Shampoo and Rian Pu. "It was rather inconclusive, Rian and Xian disappeared." Nabiki answered trying to place a name on that insufferable grin and that cocky stance. She was sure she'd seen it on someone she knew before but she couldn't remember. "How do you know about that?"

"You don't know?" the boy asked incredulously. As if knowing how he knew was her top most priority. "You take on two challenges at a time and you don't expect me to find out? Nabiki, I'm your **brother**."

Nabiki started walking again, in a faster pace this time. Some fool of an idiot was claiming to be her brother. Did her father have a consort while he was with Nodoka? Possible. He did have some of her father's features. "So... pops sent you to look for me?"

"Hey, I went to look for you on my own. There was this strange feeling in my gut." He peered at her closely, concern filtered through his familiar bluish-gray eyes. Nabiki blinked away in confusion, she knew she would remember eyes as striking as those. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"I do not want to be babied," Nabiki answered pushing him away from her, starting to run. To her disdain, he was rather quick, running beside her without any trouble. "Is there something wrong?"

"I want to make sure you get to Cologne," he said, the concern still etched at the corner of his eyes. He didn't seem winded by the fast pace and his voice came out in even tones, as if they were still walking.

"Really," Nabiki insisted. "I could get there on my own."

"I know but I'm supposed to worry about you." He gave her another one of those smiles. She has to admit that he was handsome. If she gained another stalker after this, at least it would be someone pleasant to look at. "I'm your twin after all."

She managed to catch herself before she tripped. Her so-called brother steadied her with his left hand. She requested, "Would you mind repeating that?"

He looked confused but complied with her request, stopping right along with her. "I'm supposed to worry about you."

"No, after that that," she answered gripping his hand against hers, staring wildly at his eyes, willing some sort of recognition from his features or even denying the words she was sure she heard wrong.

"What? That I'm your twin?"

Nabiki stared at him her mouth slightly agape at the audacity. "I find that hard to believe."

"What?!" he asked incredulously.

"I can take the fact that you're my brother... but my twin?" She eyed him suspiciously. "Do I know you at all?"

It took more than pouring water over him to bring him out of his current face-plant.

--------------------

Ranma-chan hefted the small bottle in her hands. "I'll keep this in mind, Matriarch."

Kodachi just stared at the three of them cluelessly.

"Thank you for the gift." Nabiki-kun followed up then bowed again. "Matriarch? Excuse me, Lady Ranko, Lady Kodachi." Such times one needed to be formal, especially with one such as Cologne watching. "I think my bath is long overdue."

The old woman waved her staff. "Oh yes, the cat's in the bath!"

Nabiki-kun managed to catch himself before he tripped. She could just imagine Ranma cringing at that. 'So... Shampoo is here too. Why does this make me think that Ranma wants me here so he can escape them all?'

* * *

**Endnotes**: 

(1) **Zabuton**: cushions used to sit on

(2) **Hanko**: this is a stamp. People in Japan don't sign (even then) they use stamps and every individual in Japan has one. This is used in all situations where any signature is required.

**Additional Notes of worth:**

a) Confucius's _Four Book of Morals_, _Book of Great Lineage_, _Ancestries to the Mikado_, _Three Character Book Morals_, are books taught in the primary school level of Japan.

b) Curently, there is an event in the **Kamakura **vacinity in the **Yuigihama beach **in **mid-August**, they watch fireworks display and such. I'm not sure if there are fireworks in 1600's but hey, anything's possible. Besides let's just say that the Yuigahama meetings changed over the years.

c) **Hazuki nijūyokka**:

_Hazuki _– is the old name for August and means the leaf month

_Hachi-gatsu _– is the current name for August and means the eight month.

Originally I used Hachi-gatsu as the eighth month because that's what my guidebook told me, but apparently, every month has a traditional name. Akane would recognize these traditional month names because they are still used in poetry, the opening paragraph of letters as well as TV shows and movies set in the Edo period or earlier.

_Nijūyokka _on the other hand are the days of the months. And in this case, twenty-four .

- thanks to Howard Russel and Wikipedia for info and clarification.

**Meaning of Names:**

**a) Kashiko**: Cake Child

_kashi_: cake  
_ko_: child, baby or Arc :)

**b) Shizukama**: If you missed this earlier on (Rian's death), it's Nabiki's second name.

_shizuka_: calm, serene, tranquil  
_ma_: three guesses, the first two don't count ;)

As I said before, the Japanese only use one name, they don't have middle names. Therefore, Shizukama is not a middle name, rather an alternate name used in cases that Ranma and Nabiki appear together as male.

**c) Tetsuma**: Horse of Steel

This is the twin's father.

**Saotome Ranma-noh-Tetsuma** roughly translates to Saotome Ranma of Tetsuma or from Tetsuma. (The connection of names after the 'noh' part is very flexible, it could be used connecting any name in your family with you depending on the way your name is used.)

**Attack Names:**

a) The **Duo Jet STREAM Raging Waters Attack**: I don't know if it's in the manga, but Ranma and Akane in the Anime, when they dealt with the Dojo destroyer used this move. I don't know the Japanese term of this anyone wanna help me out? Nabiki referred to it as _The Raging Waters _attack. Previously I called it the Duo jet SKI raging waters attack but I rewatched the anime and spotted my mistake.

b) **Xai Fang Gao**: This is Shampoo's technique. Shampoo used this to take away certain parts of Akane's memory: basically RANMA. 109 was the shampoo to make you forget and 110 was the remedy. (I don't know the translation, anyone wanna help out again:)

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

This is the start of the better chapters once again. After having two extremely bad chapters in the form of seven and eight, I am pleased that nine is good. I disagree with Ranma and Akane fighting too much, but then, this is **Ranma and Akane** we're talking about.

I deleted a scene about Akane asking about Kodachi's marriage to Ranma as well as Rose Brier. It seemed unnecessary and the entire story of how Ranma received Rose Brier from the Kunos is relayed in the next chapters.

There are still some grammar inconsistencies, and I'm trying to fix that and whenever a reviewer spots something I try and upload it right away, just as Ellen Kuhfeld pointed out. I am always open to reader criticism as well as reader input, so please feel free to correct my grammar. It's going to help me improve.

Okay... some say it's too long, others say it's too short, but since I can't please everybody :) we'll have to settle for this.

Any speculations on the Tendos and Ifuku's and her husband's involvement to them will be welcome.

People ask about Akane and Nabiki's fight, well to that question, which I have failed to answer, here it is:

Why was Nabiki's fight with Akane sort of like when she fought Ranma? She was like that when she was sixteen, didn't she get at least a little better? Okay, Akane when sixteen couldn't land a punch at a Ranma who wasn't trained to kill.

Akane at twenty nine, who is in another woman's body, hasn't trained a lot, just recovering from her illness and fighting a Nabiki who is proficient in Anything Goes and practices quite a lot with the intent to kill, is just the same thing, probably even less chances for Akane to win.

So while Akane did get better with the years, she doesn't know any special skills. Let's try to remember that without Ranma, Ryoga really doesn't know any special skills either, so basically, Akane hasn't seen any special skills, so sees no reason to train in them/believe in them.

Much as I like to continue on this rant, whoever wants to take up the argument can send me a letter :) I'm very open to hear complaints about stuff like this.

Okay I think that this particular rant is over:) Now to turn back to reformatting my computer :)

See 'ya  
iCe

* * *

**Revision notes:  
**11/23/06 – arranged some mistakes in detail with regard to old Japanese province names, grammar  
04/02/06 – common mistakes in the English language (dates of the months c/o Howard Russel)  
01/14/06 – arranged hads, quotation punctuation and deleted an unnecessary scene  
10/18/05 – arranged continuity from chapter 8

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**Special thanks to**:  
JM Bickham, Byookie Desu, Maurice Phillip, Ms. Anime Manga, Howard Russel, Ellen Kuhfeld 

And the person reading this.

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**webpage**: iCe _dot_ esmartdesign _dot _com  
**email **siuane _at _gmail _dot _com  
**LJ **iCe of dreams _with the spaces as underscore_

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I write when the spirit moves, and I make sure it moves every day.  
_unknown_


	11. Part 10: August

**Revision:  
** 04/02/06 : common grammatical errors in the English language; punctuation in quotes and verbs (had) were changed; Media Miner upload.  
12/21/05 : Revising grammar iCe  
11/13/02 : grammar revisions

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**Special Thanks to:  
**Roja Cyd  
Maurice Phillip  
Tin and Angel  
Jourdan Bickham  
Byooki Desu  
Don Granberry  
Howard Russel

And to the person reading this.

**Dedicated to** the people who have been urging me to fix my Ranma-Akane pairings.

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Out of the heart a rapture,  
Then a pain;  
Out of the dead, cold ashes,  
Life again.  
**John Bannister Tabb**  
_Evolution_

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**Rendezvous with Fate v.3  
**by iCe  
Chapter 10

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Ryoga looked up from the letter he just finished reading, hoping to get some soda out of the fridge... and blinked at the hotel entrance that greeted him. The hotel entrance didn't bother him as much as the fact that it wasn't where he was supposed to be. He blinked again, trying to will away the image, wondering if he was dreaming. 'Yep, it's real,' he thought, as he touched the sliding door and noted the valet who looked at him oddly.

"Ehe..." He smiled sheepishly. Although his sense of direction had improved over the years and he did manage to get around their apartment without getting lost, reading while walking tended to screw his internal compass. It would be no small feat to find the apartment.

It could take him days, possibly weeks. He just finished the last letter; he has no shoes, no money and no backpack. It was one of those virtually impossible trips. He was in a busy area, so it wasn't difficult to get the attention of the nearest person to ask for directions, "Would you mind telling me where the Ichimoto Towers are?"

"It's a few blocks straight down that path, sir," the man informed him, trying not to look at Ryoga's bare feet and disheveled appearance. He pointed towards the general direction of the high rise condominium. "It's that tall building over there, you can't miss it."

Ryoga looked dazedly at the direction and at the Towers looming in the morning sky. 'Straight path, right. That shouldn't be too difficult,' he mused as he turned to thank the helpful man, and found himself staring at a Sanrio shop, with a huge Hello Kitty and Kerokeroppi blocking his way. Ryoga turned back to the direction that he was supposed to set down on, when he noticed that the street looked completely different. Normally, he would be able to stay on track if he could focus **and see** his destination, but since he lost his marker he was now completely lost. Again. "This just might take a while..."

A small cackling laugh broke his thoughts. "I can't believe that what Akane said is true. You can't walk down a straight line." Shampoo hopped towards him using her cane as her great-grandmother had always done -- like a pogo stick -- and began scrutinizing him. "Your wife told me about your directional sense, but this is ridiculous."

It would have been humorous if he wasn't the butt of the joke. "It's not funny."

"Oh, but it is." Shampoo shook her head, as she jumped up to perch comfortably on Ryoga's shoulder. "You should button your shirt, sonny boy. People might think you're coming on to me."

Ryoga blushed as he speedily complied and Shampoo raised one eyebrow. "You know, until now, I never really understood what pleasure my great-grandmother found in teasing us. But in your case... I'm beginning to understand her enjoyment. Want some directions to your apartment, sonny boy?"

"Uh..."

"I'll take that as a yes." Shampoo smiled at Ryoga's expression, it was priceless. She batted her eyelashes a bit then said, "Trying to get me alone in your place already sonny? Makes a girl feel young to be flattered like that."

Ryoga started to look green and Shampoo let out another loud laugh. Deciding that it would be better if she ended her teasing now she proposed, "Look at it this way, I can tell you more than Akane's letters can."

"But your granddaughter --" Ryoga protested.

"Len can take care of herself. She's not an Amazon for nothing. You on the other hand, are completely lost." She looked at the yellowed parchment that lay seemingly forgotten in his hand. "With a page you have apparently finished. So where are you now?"

"Uhhh... Tokyo?" Ryoga answered uncertainly. He couldn't give her a better answer.

The boy was more confused than she thought so she corrected him, "No, in the letters boy!" It had been a long time since anyone had called him boy, and naturally he felt put out by it.

"Oh!" His eyes lit up in understanding and answered with, "The Yuigahama meeting."

Shampoo's smile grew wide. "Ahh, then I know first hand what happened. Take a left here... No, not at this shop at the corner boy..." Shampoo shook her head then tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"Okay, the Yuigahama meeting... After Nabiki changed places with Ranma, they managed to push back the attacks away from Yuigahama. The border mess wasn't completely cleaned up, but Yuigahama was secured for Happosai's meeting. On the twenty-fourth of August, Ranma was home and preparing to leave with his sister. We all were going. Well, almost everyone..."

-------------------------

"_ Great-grandmamma... can't I just stay here?>_" Shampoo asked in Mandarin as she snapped a jade earring in place. She had wondered why she had been told to bring the ancient jewels along when they left for China. When she found out that it was to please Happosai she had rebelled against the idea. She still couldn't understand why they should go through so much to please one man. "_ I'm not feeling well and -->_"

" _Shampoo. You can't avoid Ranma Saotome forever. There are some things that need to be understood better before one can judge,>_" Cologne chastised as she handed Shampoo a brush and a hair comb. "_ Our arrangement with the Saotome Clan is there to help ensure the safety and future of our tribe. I don't want my heir ruining this just because she couldn't get the man she loves.>_"

Something akin to a whine escaped Shampoo's lips as she pulled all her hair up in two neat odangos and added an ornate hair comb to it, representing her role in the Amazon Tribe as heir of one of its Elders. "_ I'm not evading Ranma, great-grandmamma. I'm in his house teaching his children, aren't I?>_"

" _Then there's no problem for you to go to Yuigahama as my rightful heir. So stop whining,>_" Cologne ordered as she gave Shampoo's shoulder a comforting squeeze. "_ It's been seven years. Isn't seven years enough to heal?>_"

Shampoo looked away, and Cologne felt that the girl has already taken enough of her lecture for the day softening her tone she explained, "_ You're my heir, Shampoo. You must realize that it is a great responsibility you must live with.>_"

Shampoo shook her head as she looked at Cologne's aged eyes. "_ I can't be Rian for you, great-grandmother. I... I can't take her place. She is right you know. She is the best of our generation. How am I supposed to compete with that?>_"

"_ My poor, sweet girl, you thought all this time -- >_" Cologne cut herself off as she hugged Shampoo, stroking her purple locks. She didn't miss the fact that Shampoo still talked of her cousin as if she were alive. "_ I didn't raise you to replace your cousin. I know being heir is a heavy burden and it was so sudden, but I never meant for you to replace her. Rian made her choices and she was the one who chose you.>_"

Cologne tilted Shampoo's face to look at her. "_ Dear child, I'm so sorry. Don't you realize that you should be proud of the woman that you are? The woman you've become?>_"

"_ I'm nothing but a shadow to a girl who did everything better than I ever could.>_" Shampoo looked away. "_ I'm only second best! I couldn't even get Ranma, and she did.>_"

" _You were never second best Shampoo. All of my children are equal in my eyes.>_" Cologne wanted to comfort the girl, but sensed that there were no comforting words to say. If she overstepped here, Shampoo would end up hurting more than she should be. "_ You must realize that.>_"

"_ If I weren't second best, then why was Rian heir before me?>_" Shampoo asked defiantly.

"_ It was because she was older; because she was the eldest daughter of my eldest; because you were far too young; because you were technically married. So many reasons, Shampoo. What's important now is that you're heir.>_" Cologne shook her head. "_ I'll leave you to think>._"Pogoing away, Cologne turned to her great-granddaughter. " _When you are ready I'll be waiting for you by the front gate.>_"

Cologne left silently and Shampoo sighed, plucking the hair comb out of her hair and looking at it. It was a family heirloom, handed down from generation to generation of heirs.

On the back, a small hierarchical tree was carved. It was a carving so small that it would fit a grain of rice. Elders wrote down their heir as the tree expanded. Although she would need something to magnify the image, she knew Rian's name was beside hers. And for the first time since she acquired the comb, she noticed that her name was written in Rian's hand.

She didn't know how she could've seen that through the minute carving, but she knew that her cousin had given her blessing.

Shampoo sighed as she placed the comb back. She stepped out of her room to find Cologne and apologize for her pig-headedness... but stopped as she noticed the twins step out of their respective rooms.

Both were male, dripping wet and wore nothing but the towels around their waist. They stopped and looked at her. The only way to differentiate them now, would be their eyes. Ranma had sea blue while Nabiki had deep brown, almost indistinguishable from black.

"Shampoo," Shampoo wasn't sure if it was Ranma or Nabiki that spoke, and in the distance, she couldn't tell. "We have to move faster or we might end up late. Happosai does not like late people and we wouldn't want an irate Happosai on us."

It was Nabiki-kun, Ranma was still uncomfortably standing there and didn't have any idea how to broach the topic of Hanae or the fact that he was wearing just a towel. "Since when did Nabiki care for old man?" Shampoo asked.

"Don't remind me," Nabiki-kun said with a smile then winced as if remembering something painful. "Ranma, where are those shirts? And those damned katana... are they in your room? They're not in mine!"

Ranma shrugged as he looked at Nabiki helplessly.

Nabiki rolled her eyes. "Men. Well? Are you going to help me find them or not? The old man's going to have a fit if we don't come in our complete 'formal Saotome Clan get-up' as your daughter has nicely dubbed it." She looked apologetically at Shampoo. "We'll be out in a while. Come on, Ranma."

Nabiki pushed Ranma's towards the direction of the next room. Ranma complied by opening the shoji for Nabiki and stepped inside while Nabiki gave a final wave to Shampoo before entering the room.

Shampoo sighed as she went outside. Her grandmother was already there, talking to an attentive Kodachi.

Shampoo raised her eyebrows. She never saw her great-grandmother and Kodachi get along that well before. Actually, they have never gotten along at all. Cologne met Kodachi a few times, and the meetings were always thinly veiled with hostility.

Now, a week in Rose Brier, and they were acting as if they were the best of friends. It was highly suspicious, but Cologne was an elder and she herself was a mere apprentice. Who was she to question what moved the clan?

" _Great-grandmamma...I am truly-->_" Shampoo started to say in Chinese, but Cologne cut her off.

"What have I said about talking in another language when another person is present, Shampoo?" Cologne asked her voice stern but gentle.

"But great-grandmamma!" Shampoo protested weakly. But since Cologne didn't waver in her stance, Shampoo switched to Japanese. "I'm sorry..."

Kodachi turned around to look at her. Shampoo noticed the small pinkish spots that marred the woman's face and arms right away. From the looks of it, it was probably an allergy.

Kodachi smiled. It was something Shampoo had never seen her do. Kodachi laughed that horrible insane laugh, but smile -- never. "I don't believe we've met, have we?" They wouldn't have. Shampoo has been avoiding her quite vigilantly and has been doing well until her great grandmother decided to be friends with the woman.

The small tentative voice Kodachi used wasn't her usual dominant all-too-sure-of-herself tone either. But then, Shampoo really wouldn't know, it had been seven years, and the fact was, people did change.

"Crazy rose gi--" she started to address Kodachi in her usual manner but she was silenced by a small tap from Cologne's cane. The shake of the older woman's head reinforced it. The order didn't go without misunderstanding or anger in her part. But even if there were orders she would never understand she reluctantly followed it, biting back the scathing insult she wanted to say.

"Lady Kodachi, I am pleased to introduce my great-great-granddaughter, Xian Pu." She didn't mention the long string of titles connected to her name. "Shampoo, I believe you know Lady Kodachi? She suffers from mild amnesia. She prefers the name Akane now."

"So you're the doll maker Hanae has been talking about!" Kodachi exclaimed in small wonder, and Shampoo could almost see her delight in the particularly wrong fact she just mentioned.

Shampoo didn't know how to respond to Kodachi's comment since she has never been friends with the woman and she has been forbidden to any hostile response. She was saved from further conversation when she noticed Kodachi's gaze move to a point behind Shampoo's shoulder and heard her sharp intake of breath.

Shampoo turned around to find Ranma and Nabiki-kun at the doors, dressed identically from the intertwined twin dragons stitched meticulously on the black cloth to twin katana by their side. Shampoo couldn't blame the woman for her admiration. They looked perfect in their black silks.

"I'm sorry, Ranma? Don't tell me you have another twin." Apparently, Kodachi has forgotten the Jusenkyo curse.

If Shampoo was not sure who was who before, she was sure now. Nabiki did not fidget under questioning and hiding the truth came more naturally to the woman. Ranma shifted, and Nabiki-kun answered the question instead, "Relatives are allowed to look alike Kodachi."

"Oh... I see." Shampoo didn't know if she should feel sorry for Kodachi. It was obvious that Nabiki didn't particularly like her, and Nabiki has the reputation of making the lives of those she didn't like hellish. "Won't you introduce me to him then?"

Dreading a fight between the two, Ranma immediately spoke up, "Shizukama meet Akane, my wife. Akane, Shizukama."

"Pleased to meet you," Kodachi said and bowed politely at Nabiki. Nabiki went through the motions with little heart, having been introduced to Kodachi once for Ranma and Kodachi's wedding was enough, Shampoo imagined having to do it again was just tiresome for Nabiki.

"It took us some time to root out the ceremonial garb." Ranma smiled sheepishly by way of explanation, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.

"Come on, then, Happosai does not like latecomers," Nabiki reminded them, urging things along by pushing Ranma out the doorway. The way towards the meeting place was not particularly hard to find. Every year, they picked a random place in Yuigahama to use for the next meeting. The person who owned the house was informed the day before so that the location of the house would be secret. Thus, there were no well-lit paths, just the isolated peasant's house, and Yuigahama was as isolated as they come.

When a new samurai was invited to the meeting, an invitation was sent out to them through means of another Saotome samurai, with the instructions of who exactly would pick them up, when it was going to be held, and whatever Happosai was willing to impart. Happosai was a terribly paranoid old man.

Still, the sun would be useful. Yuigahama would be dark and has no clear-cut pathways. Getting lost was not an option. Groping in the dark was extremely disliked.

"I'll catch up with you guys. I'm just going to talk with Kodachi," Ranma urged them along then turned towards Cologne and Shampoo for permission he really did not need.

The matriarch nodded moving towards the gates. "We'll meet you at the bridge, son-in-law."

"You know, it's been seven years since I've married. You'd think that you'd stop calling me 'son-in-law'," Ranma noted scornfully, his face registering exasperation as he stared hard at Cologne.

Cologne merely smiled. "Old habits die hard... son-in-law."

Ranma raised his hands up as a sign of defeat as they left then turned towards his wife.

She smiled, a little unsure of what to say, nervous from the moment Ranma stated he wanted to remain behind for a moment. "Would you like me to fetch the children? To say goodbye?" she suggested. It was an awkward moment.

"No, I already said goodbye. They shouldn't be kept from their lessons," Ranma answered, waving away her worries. Ranma and Kodachi hardly ever gave each other the courtesy of talk, and he wondered briefly what urged him to stay. Looking at her thoughtfully, gauging the reddish spots on her face he smiled a little, he hadn't seen an outbreak of allergies on Kodachi in ages. Picking up her hand he examined the receding red spots more closely. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. "Your allergy seems to be getting better. I trust you know now that you don't exactly lap up all the kamboko on the plate."

"I didn't know, okay?" Kodachi shot back as she snatched her hand. Ranma didn't know if it was because of anger or embarrassment. "That's generally the effect of amnesia. I forget things."

"Amnesia," Ranma repeated as he put his hands down. "You know, amnesia is a weird thing... it makes you forget all of your past... but not a thing of the present."

"You still doubt me?" There was a plea in her eyes that he ignored. He didn't want to answer things that would generally give him more trouble, and that look would surely land him into some. But then, why did he ask some time for her?

"It's not hard to do." It didn't come out quite as he wished, but it was too late to take the words back. Kodachi lowered her eyes, and Ranma almost bit his lip in indecision.

She was silent for a moment. "I guess that someone as horrible as me would be impossible to believe..." 'Or to love,' she added silently to herself. Kodachi started to reach out her hand to hold his, but let it drop before reaching it. "If that's the way you feel then..." She sighed. "I guess I'll see you later Ranma."

He nodded then turned to go, jumping the small fence as though to catch up with the small party, but in reality, he was making sure he was far away from them as well as Rose Brier. He stopped on one tree and leaned against it as he tried to organize his thoughts. He closed his eyes and whispered what he should have, but couldn't tell her, "Doesn't she know that it's getting harder each day..."

-

Akane watched him go until he was far from her sight, black shirt whipping against the wind. She smiled ruefully as she rubbed the hand that he examined. It was getting better. Cologne gave her a salve, and it healed her much faster than the ointment she had in her medicine cabinet back in the present.

Her thoughts wandered back to the gesture Ranma displayed. It was surprising and wonderful that he gave her time that he had stayed to talk, but... It didn't end on the note that she hoped. A scowl making its way onto her face, Akane rubbed her arms thoughtfully. "The jerk could have at least said goodbye before leaving." Yes, that would have made it perfect. Ranma didn't give her the goodbye she wanted.

She turned to look at the trees he escaped to, opting for the shorter way towards the meeting place rather than through the gates as Cologne, Nabiki and Shampoo used. That was mere seconds ago, but knowing him... he had covered more ground than a normal person would. All she knew was that they were going to Yuigahama.

"That's it!" Akane snapped her fingers as she ran inside the house calling, "Ifuku!"

In a second, Ifuku was in front of her with a small bow. "Yes, Lady Akane?"

"How well am I guarded?" she demanded.

"Not as much as before, my lady." Ifuku waved at the gates for emphasis. "Most of the men have been relieved of their lesser duties to lend a hand at the border troubles."

"Good." Akane smiled. "Would you mind doing a small favor for me?"

"My duty is to serve, my lady."

"Okay... now here's what we're going to do..."

* * *

The moment the twins entered the small house that he chose for the meeting, Happosai knew of their arrival. He also noted Cologne and Shampoo's presence with them. He blew out the smoke from his pipe and waited patiently in the shadows for them to pay their respects, but he did not greet them. He was their liege lord. They would come to him.

His gaze never left the Saotome siblings.

In the years of his long leadership of the Saotome Clan, enemies and competition have never threatened Happosai more than the twins' mere presence now did. They were the only threat to his position.

He has never seen such raw potential for the art in another person before. Although he knew of people more cunning than them and other people who were more valued in their wit, never has he seen anyone with both, and never in another practitioner of the art. They were the perfect students. They learned as fast as you could teach, adapted to almost any style and did as was bidden. That was proven by the way they followed their foster father's training. They may not like his training, they may complain about it but they followed it.

In Happosai's opinion, the twins were the best that the Saotome Clan has ever produced. And they would remain the best the Saotome Clan would ever produce from the looks of their offspring, for even they paled in comparison. And for that, he feared them.

Ever since he was young, Happosai had to struggle, struggle always to stay one-step before everyone else. Against popular belief, his road to where he was today was not served to him on a silver platter. He came from a poor family of eight children, of which he was the lone survivor. When other lords, who now held positions to rival that of his own, grew up being tutored by scholars and had menservants, Happosai had to glean that same knowledge for himself. Bowing and scraping where he must and stabbing the ones foolish enough to look the other way in the back. Like this, he rose to become the head of the Saotome clan, and like this, he intended to keep it. Happosai knew a threat when it posed itself, and the twins were a threat.

Everything started with training the children from the day that they could understand commands, each guardian trainer has their own methods but everyone with Saotome blood taught Anything Goes. They taught it completely to the child that sometimes, martial arts is the only thing the children end up knowing. Then, when they were truly ready, they were inaugurated. But, to be truly members of Anything Goes, the children were entered into a small tournament... All direct blood participated in it. It was designed to sift the weak from the strong, so that he would know who to pass on the Arts to. Ranma was undefeated and Nabiki took third with only two losses, one came from her brother. It had never happened before.

So, in the hopes that someone would eventually bungle their training, he set Genma Saotome to train the young ones, and he took pains in picking him for it was unusual for men to be foster parents. It was simply not done. But Genma was framed easily. It was easy to look into the mistakes of a fool who drank and gambled too much. It was easy to pick any of the number of possible offences Genma had and exaggerate his mistakes. Happosai managed to let the whole clan believe that Genma did something ill towards him, when the whole time it was a propagated front just so he could order the fool to be foster father to the pair.

It was his first mistake, in a string of many regarding the twins. Genma Saotome may be a fool, a drunkard and a cheat, but it turned out that this scorned old drunk was the best trainer the twins could have received. His teaching methods may have been brutal at best and idiotic at worst but it managed to sharpen the twins. He was what the twins needed in those crucial formative years.

When the clan started to take interest in them, he sent them to lead his worst group of samurai to battle. He expected failure. They surprised him. Genma was a poor tactician, and his pupils should have known nothing about leading, but he underestimated them again. They managed to take down an island, with a group of samurai who did not know how to swim, much less handle a sword.

Instead of humiliating them in front of their peers, the twins gained respect for winning a seemingly impossible battle. At that time, some of the other daimyo under him were already taking note of their talent.

Although they were recognized as Saotome samurai at six as most of the children were, they were advanced in almost everything else. He was forced to put them in the competition roster so early on... twelve was an early age to proclaim young children to be full samurai. So he had sent them off to China, against the pirate Wako that invaded the seas, just so they would stay away from the Clan's prying eyes.

That was another mistake. He did not expected Cologne to take interest in their skill, did not expect them to find any competition there at all. Yet they did. Shampoo and Rian managed to raise their skill to extraordinary levels by just attacking with their twin bonbori.

When they returned, he expected the string of engagements to keep them busy, but they protected their han, their fief, nonetheless.

Imagine his surprise when they managed to win over that small test he handed out to his samurai for hatamoto status. He was forced to give them the extra twenty ri around Nerima.

Nerima was the twins' ancestral home, something that their father had passed down to them when they gained hatamoto status, allowing their father focus on his other land. That much reclaimed, at least they would be on constant watch for any invading forces from the Kuno.

But they managed to make Nerima safe, and so he had engaged Ranma with Kodachi and married Nabiki to a samurai who would keep her locked up in that small house of his.

He married them off to Kodachi, who was demented and held the last piece of Kamakura in her hands and the Ikkasei Clan who were known for their close-mindedness. He even made Ranma and Nabiki convert from Buddhism to Catholicism just because he wanted to see if they would. They did.

With the two of them separated through the arranged marriage Nabiki took, they should have been weaker. When Kodachi tried to get Nabiki banished, everything looked better.

After that, Ranma was at best a puppet to be controlled. He did not count on him pleading for her return, to threaten seppuku when she was not accepted back. He did not consider Ranma's honor and an equally strong love for his sister.

Until now, Happosai still has not found a way to keep the other Saotomes' attention from the twin's increasing skill. All that he could do was keep them busy doing errands for him so that they would not think of overthrowing him.

It was not good. Happosai would have been a fool not to realize that he needed Ranma, and even Nabiki, as hatamoto and as daimyo. They were his best, and he'd be damned to let his best go. To lose such a dedicated and skilled samurai in the art, just because of Nabiki, was something he was not willing to do.

But if the clan ever rallied the courage to usurp him... those two were the only candidates that could unseat him. He feared Ranma because he has the influence to overthrow him. He feared Nabiki more because she was devious and because she never liked him as liege lord.

He was taken out of his musings by their identical bows. It took them a shorter time than he hoped to find him against the ceiling.

Happosai dropped down from the ceiling and looked at their formal clothes, the two intertwined dragons at the front and the Saotome shield at the back. Their twin katana gleamed in the light, the intricate design of the hilt captivating to the eye. Ranma and Nabiki stole Nabiki's sword back from the Ikkaseis when she was set free because Clan Ikkasei had kept it as evidence of Nabiki's 'crime'. Still... the twins did as Happosai ordered and came in their respective garbs. At least they still obeyed orders. 'I wonder for how long?'

"It took you a while to notice the children, Happosai," Cologne cackled from her ever-present cane, her eyebrows arching up in perfect mockery. "I hope you aren't getting senile on me."

He let it pass. "Kashiko's niece is in the other room serving okonomiyaki... and since you're here... we're only waiting for Genma. He's picking up the new heir of Sumiboshi. I'll call for you when we begin."

The twins nodded, he didn't wait for them to ask anything and left instantly. He noticed Nabiki came in her cursed form as he ordered. The order was for the people who didn't know about the curse and to stop questions asking him why he invited a woman along. The Amazons were long ago taken as exceptions to that rule.

He sighed as he remembered the day the twins were awarded their two swords by their parents. It had been a long and tiring ceremony. It was a Saotome tradition and tradition was something Happosai strongly believed in. Happosai closed his eyes to remember that ceremony, but it was the day before it which struck him vividly. The time when he had watched Nodoka say goodbye to her children.

-------------------------

Happosai strode toward the main hall of the castle, stopping when he heard Nodoka's voice filter through the shoji. She was talking to her children. Fathered by Tetsuma, these two were her only children. Though they called Happosai heartless, he didn't want to break up the already rare moments between the three, so he stopped by the shoji giving them a few more minutes before he talked to Nodoka. He watched the scene through the small opening the shoji afforded him.

"These are for you," Nodoka revealed as she laid the small bundle down in front of them. They were the shirts she worked on for over an entire month. It is tradition that women sew the family crest on silk for their children to wear on such a day. It was a labor of love.

Eagerly, the children tore open the packages to reveal the clothes that every Saotome samurai was proud to wear. The entwined dragons glinted when the sun's rays touched its golden threads. Nodoka always loved to depict her children as dragons.

"Thanks, Mom!"

"Thank you, Mother."

Nodoka's eyes glittered with tears as she watched them try on the new clothing. "You will be dressed in those garments tomorrow. They are to be worn whenever there is a Saotome gathering. It is your formal wear. Tomorrow... your father is going to give Ranma his sword, just as I will to Nabiki... and you will receive them with heads held up high, showing that you are proud to be there."

She took the furoshiki, a piece of cloth traditionally used to wrap bundles made from cotton and stenciled with an intricate dye pattern, from a nearby table and gave it to them.

"You will wrap your swords here. Keep them away from sight when you think a fight would result from people seeing your swords and fighting would be unwise." She neatly folded and handed the children their respective gaily-colored kerchiefs. "I have been informed that Happosai wishes for you to travel to China."

" China?" they spoke as if they were one and stopped the teasing over the gifts. "Why?"

"One does not have reservations about commands, children," Nodoka whispered. "One merely complies."

"But...!" they both protested.

Ranma looked at Nabiki before continuing, "We've only seen father five times."

"Does Lord Happosai wish to estrange us from our own family?" the big words always came out from Nabiki.

Foster parenting was prevalent in Japan. It was a norm when your parents were daimyo, so that there was more time for the parents to do their duties to the clan instead of being bothered with taking care of the children. Foster mothers were assigned to these children early but he recently changed the person assigned to them, handing them Genma, a Saotome samurai himself, who would act both as their trainer and foster parent. It was the reason why the twins only saw their mother occasionally and their father rarely. Their foster father took them on long training trips while Tetsuma, their real father, went about following orders and arranging his fief.

Happosai shook his head as he entered the room, stopping any further conversation on the topic. Nodoka immediately bowed, and the twins followed suit. He gave a slight nod and they rose.

"I trust your children have memorized their oaths?" Happosai asked Nodoka. He valued the oaths of the children almost as much as he valued women's undergarments.

"Yes, my lord," Nodoka answered as she turned to face her children. "Would you like to hear them deliver it now?"

"No, I shall wait for tomorrow," Happosai pronounced. He nodded as though he were conducting an inspection. "I trust you have their furoshiki and garments completed?"

"Yes, my lord. I hope that you will be pleased with their design."

"I am always pleased with your work. Your young ones have shown much promise. Their training under Genma has been fruitful," Happosai complemented them as he eyed the children. "I hope I will not be disappointed."

-------------------------

He had not been. The children were as good as their mentor promised. They were the youngest to ever be declared fit for duty as samurai, and the youngest to have taken oaths before their liege lord.

He was surprised at their skill. Thus began his attempts to keep the twins from knowing too much of the Clan, and allowing the clan to know little of them in return.

He shook his head as he thought of how long he had left to be liege lord.

-

Nabiki-kun grumbled as he passed the numerous samurai on his way to the okonomiyaki grill, his stomach rumbling. He did not eat dinner, and Kodachi's rash outbreak left the whole household with little appetite.

After a few weeks of absence from Rose Brier, Nabiki felt the slight shift in Kodachi's attitude. She was happier, pleasanter. More enamored towards the tasks that she seemingly forgot. She tried her hand at almost every marital art now and though she failed each completely, she wasn't as dejected as she was before Nabiki left for the border.

Something happened while he was gone. Could it be possible that the girl was starting to make Ranma believe? It was a difficult task, Ranma didn't repeat his mistakes, and Kodachi certainly was one of them. But Kodachi's maniacal persistence was common knowledge.

Her stomach grumbled again, reminding her that this was a time to forget Kodachi and focus on other important things... the meal that she had missed earlier for example.

Okonomiyaki would barely fill his stomach but it would keep him from starving, and Kashiko-san made the best okonomiyaki this side of Sagami. She was even better than Ukyo. It was common knowledge that she hoped Ukyo would be able to match a bit of that skill. She deftly maneuvered around the fifteen or so samurai milling about. For a small reception room, fifteen was plenty, and she was thankful to sit down in one of the zabuton in front of the grill to ask for one of Kashiko's specials.

She was actually mildly surprised to find Ukyo there, cooking, and remembered being told that it was Kashiko's niece who was cooking belatedly. 'I should have known...' Nabiki thought, 'I mean... how many nieces could Kashiko have that cooked okonomiyaki anyway?' Upon Ukyo's surprised look, Nabiki knew that Ukyo did not expect to see her or her brother either.

"Ranma!" Ukyo cried out in surprise. She nearly failed to catch the okonomiyaki she just flipped into the air. "What are you doing here?"

"This is a Saotome gathering," Nabiki retorted, waving her hand about. "What do you think?"

"Uhhh -- well..." the fumble over the words made Nabiki smile. She has been busy lately that she barely managed to get in a word of teasing edgewise.

As much as it amused Nabiki to see one of Ranma's fiancées squirm, she wanted her okonomiyaki, so she let up for one night. "I'm not Ranma."

"You're not?" Ukyo repeated. She placed the new okonomiyaki on a plate, and then handed it over to a waiting samurai, who began eating immediately. Ukyo peered into Nabiki's eyes for a moment. "Well of course you're not, Nabiki!" she exclaimed. "I knew that!"

"Sure, Ucchan, you knew." She smirked and wished all her fiancés had been this easy to fluster. Genma definitely knew how to pick their fiancées. He gave Ranma all the gullible, but overly obsessive ones, while he gave her all the incredibly smart and entirely too unemotional louts. "I'm called Shizukama when I'm male and Ranma's here," Nabiki reminded her lightly. Ukyo never needed to be reminded of that because they have never been in a setting that required her to pretend to be someone else. Now, in the midst of important Saotome heads, it was important. The curse was an advantage even in the middle of the family.

"So why are you here as a boy?"

"You of all people should know the answer to that, Ukyou," Nabiki pointed out with a shrug of the shoulder. She motioned at the samurai milling about, taking her time to get her second point across. "This is a man's world. This is a world where women are regarded as mere conveniences. Only a few people know of 'The Pools of Sorrow'. Besides, I am listened to more this way. I should tell you what happened with 'Nabiki' the last time she was here."

She smiled as she went back to the topic that Ukyo obviously dodged, "You know you can't evade him forever."

"What?" Ukyo stuttered as she took out the batter and poured it on the grill to make Nabiki's favorite recipe. "I'm not evading him."

"Sure you are," Nabiki said in a bantering tone as he leaned closer. "That's the reason why you closed up shop near Rose Brier, moved in with your aunt and are serving random people food." Nabiki shot her a flat look. "You're evading my brother."

Ukyo shook her head as she flipped the okonomiyaki then whipped up another plate, catching the pancake with it. Taking out the sauce, she swirled it over the okonomiyaki and presented it to Nabiki-kun. The sauce read 'No, I'm not.'

Shrugging his shoulders again, Nabiki-kun prodded, "You're lying so much you believe it yourself. That's all right." She nonchalantly took the chopsticks from Ukyo's outstretched hand and began to eat. "People in love always are. It's the sure as hell symptom of the malady."

"I'm not lying to myself," Ukyo countered.

"I rest my case," Nabiki declared triumphantly. "Look, they say that loving is the worst pain ever to exist. It cuts deeper than any mortal wound can, and heals so much slower. Why love if it just exists to be hurt? But then, if you evade being hurt, how will you know when you are not hurt? Just a thought."

"You're a fine one to talk about love," Ukyo criticized as she mixed another batch of the batter nodding to the next samurai that placed an order. "It's bold words for one who doesn't believe in it."

Nabiki stopped eating and looked Ukyo straight in the eye. "I believed in it once, a very long time ago. I believed in love, too." She got a faraway look, and then focused on Ukyo again his eyes hardening. "Love disappoints you."

"You know," Ukyo muttered. "I don't think I should go to you when I'm heartbroken. I get the feeling you'll just be all cynical. You've always been cynical."

"That's a fallacy too," Nabiki pointed out, setting her chopsticks back to the plate and handing it to Ukyo. She was just as fast an eater as Ranma, but with more refined manners. "Children, at least, aren't allowed to be cynics."

"What happened?" Ukyo asked as she took the plate from Nabiki and placed it in wash pile.

"We grow up," Nabiki declared in a matter of fact tone, her eyes boring into Ukyo's soul. "But sometimes staying young seems so much better...than the alternative."

-

Ranma stepped out into the evening to get a breath of fresh air. Although the gathering was limited to only nineteen people, they were meeting in such a confined space that the air in the room became stifling.

It was chilly outside and he could see the mist circling the trees, it was starting to get cold. Still he wanted his solitude. He has never been much of a social person. If there were gatherings, he kept to himself or stuck to Nabiki. When he really needed to appear for something that needed fast-talking, he switched places with his twin. It was something they frequently did. They were seldom caught.

Nabiki socialized. He guarded her back. That was how things worked for the best. She once told him that although she didn't take pleasure in socializing either, her dislike for it was surpassed by her love of getting information, the thrill of tricking the vast majority and her extreme pleasure in manipulating events.

The mists settled, the sky was covered by the trees, but he was sure rain was coming. Having a Jusenkyo curse tended to make its victims sensitive to quick weather changes. It was rather useful when one didn't want to change suddenly.

His mind wandered away from Happosai's crowded room. Genma and his charge were the only ones missing, Happosai said. Knowing his foster father, Ranma expected it would take some time for Genma to arrive. He did not think this out of disrespect. The truth was, Genma simply behaved that way. At least he could sort out the things Happosai has questions about.

The area was dark, samurai were patrolling around Yuigahama and there were no trails to this house, Happosai was extremely cautious in his desire to keep Yuigahama from the prying eyes of the enemy. Still, it made the other cities in Sagami vulnerable... not that he would ever tell Happosai that.

In order for him to secure Yuigahama, just for it to be proclaimed safe enough for this little meeting of Happosai's, he had needed more manpower than necessary. Yes, he could have done it easily without extracting men from Sagami's cities and sending them to the borders, but not in time for Happosai's meeting.

It meant fewer samurai in the cities of Sagami. It worried him, if all the samurai were at the border, then an enemy could attack any city and destroy it completely. Since the Yuigahama meetings varied in time and place, it was not really a large possibility of attack, but because of the border troubles he had not wanted to risk it. But here he was, with men pulled out from their stations. It did not bode well for him. Sometimes, he wished that Yuigahama was not in Sagami, it would make his life easier if he didn't need to secure the meeting place every year.

Further musing was disrupted by a feminine scream, dulled by the distance but still clear to his ears. His head shot up at the noise. Picking the general direction of its source, he started to run towards it. However, another samurai whom he recognized as one of Happosai's stopped in front of him.

"What happened?" Ranma demanded.

The samurai bowed first before continuing, "Well sir, a woman has breached the periphery of the estate. She claims she's from the house of Saotome. She wishes to talk to Lord Ranma. Shall I go and fetch Lord Ranma, sir?"

"There's no need." The samurai was probably new, Ranma mused. Happosai was a strict dictator among his men, and he made sure that all his samurai knew the key players of his team. As it was, he was only recognized because of the crest in his attire and the sword in its sheath. "I'll see to her, where is she?"

"Just beyond that tree, two of my men are holding her until Ranma Saotome says so." He pointed to the direction he came from and turned to Ranma again. "Shall I accompany you, sir?"

Ranma shook his head, he could handle the household help, but he wondered what could bring her here... and that worried him. Nabiki and he only disclosed where they were going to Sara, one of the young girls, with strict instructions not to seek them out unless they were of dire need. He wondered what the problem at home was.

As he neared the trio, he could not see the girl's face, but was sure it was not Sara. Sara was a fifteen-year-old girl. This one was probably in her mid-twenties. He waved his hand in dismissal of the samurai. They bowed and left. The girl looked confused for a moment then turned to him.

"Kodachi," Ranma addressed her stopping in mid-step as he looked at her. He could barely see her in the dark, and there were no lights that could light the way, but there was a distinct way she held herself this past few months that assured him it was his wife. "For a moment there, I thought the house was under siege."

"Is that the way to treat your wife?" She pouted as she neared him. He recognized her garb as Ifuku's, and wondered how she had gotten past Sasuke and Omokage to leave the house this morning.

"How did you find me?" Ranma asked, knowing that Sara would not have told her.

She smiled as she whispered, "History."

"History," he repeated then shook his head a disbelieving look on his face. "What do you mean history? Will anyone else find out the way you did?"

Akane frowned impatiently. "Not unless they plan on buying history books from my generation." She shook her head at Ranma's stare. Of course he'd just take that the wrong way. He took everything the wrong way. "No, no one will find out."

With that matter settled, Ranma turned to the less pressing issue of her presence. "Why come here? You know what any samurai would have done to you if any other relative of mine caught you instead of me."

"That's the exciting part." She gave out a small laugh at his puzzled expression. He didn't know if she was crazier before her head injury or after it, but he knew one thing for sure: she was still crazy. "Besides, I wanted to get my goodbye."

"Your goodbye," he echoed while replaying the afternoon they had set out for Yuigahama in his head and realized he really hadn't given his wife the goodbye she was asking for. What astounded him was that she went through all the trouble to get something that really didn't mean anything in the long run... it was unusual for Kodachi to do something like that. "You escaped Sasuke, Omokage, and Happosai's samurai; stole Ifuku's clothes and attempted to breach the meeting... because you wanted a goodbye?"

She nodded. "From me?" he asked. She nodded again. "That's crazy!" he shouted at her.

She looked down hurt by his assessment, but still managing a strong voice when she demanded her request. "Well I wanted one, are you giving it to me?"

Ranma leaned closer then raised her face so that she would be looking up at him. "You sound like a spoiled child, making demands from her parent."

She pouted again. "My parent hasn't been spoiling me enough."

The drop of rain that fell across her cheek stopped any further response that would come from him. Ranma frowned and wiped it from her face with his thumb. "Damn." Lowering his hand from her face, he caught one of hers and pulled her closer so that he could see her clearly. "Let's get out of here."

"Why?" Akane asked trying to catch up to Ranma's long stride and fast pace, while squinting in the dark at the direction that they were running. There was no cleared path, no landmarks she could visibly see in the dark. She was lost in an instant. "You're scared of the rain?"

Ranma didn't answer. He was having trouble spotting the small sukiya, the teahouse where chanoyu is held, that he had spotted when they first arrived. His visibility was already hampered by the night. Akane was complicating things. "Kodachi, if I get wet..."

"If you get wet, what's the problem? Afraid that the clothes will shrink?" Akane laughed, she was treating it all like a big joke. Why shouldn't she? She didn't know of Jusenkyo.

He didn't want to explain to his sister why he'd been caught in the rain. He didn't want to explain to the samurai present why Ranko was there and she needed hot water. There were secrets that he prized, Jusenkyo was one of them. "More of the other way around," Ranma muttered as he finally spotted the small isolated house, slammed the door opened and pushed Akane in as she knelt before the low doorway, just as the rain began to fall heavily.

"Great," Akane muttered as she looked outside, the white sheet of rain coupled with the fog and the dark, making it impossible to see past an arm's length, maybe less. She pulled the shogi close just as the wind blew the rain towards them. "Looks like I'm marooned here."

Ranma hoped whoever the vassal that owned the place was, would understand exactly why they were dripping all over the place and making a complete mess of the tatami. Ranma groped around in the dark for a lantern, thankful that the water had not been enough to incur the change.

"Uh... Ranma?" Akane tried to get his attention as she tugged on his hand. "That's my shirt you're holding."

"Sorry." The room was pitch black. He could only see her figure moving about in the dark and none of the details. "Try to find the lantern, or the brazier." After a few seconds of groping in the dark, Ranma finally found the small lantern and lit it up. He opened up the brazier and lit that one too, making the room a bit less chilly than it had been before.

"How did you light that up?" Akane asked in wonder.

"Chi," Ranma informed her, a bit distracted as he opened the window that led to the outside terrace. The rain was heavy and Akane would not be able to reach Rose Brier safely if she went out now. "Have you eaten?"

She smiled sheepishly as she warmed her hands at the brazier, her hair was dripping wet and her clothes were damp -- but they were not soaked through. "I haven't eaten since lunch."

"The rashes from your allergy are completely gone," Ranma commented as he closed the window again. "That salve Cologne gave you works miracles."

Akane's hand shot up to her face, she hadn't even realized that it was truly gone. When she left Rose Brier, they were dwindling and were reduced to a few minor dots. "I guess."

"I'll get you something to eat," Ranma told her as he opened the doors, letting the cold breeze in for a moment, "I hope you have nothing against okonomiyaki?"

"Not unless it has kamboko." Akane offered a weak smile.

Nodding, Ranma was gone in the dark night, shutting the door quietly behind him.

-

Nabiki-kun looked at the people milling about the room and frowned noting that his twin wasn't to be found anywhere. Ranma's ability to slip out even in a room full of samurai astounded him, but worried him to no end.

Happosai was not a very patient man and Genma's tardiness was starting to affect his mood. Happosai's mood as well as Ranma's absence left her in deep thought, so she was easily taken by surprise when something hit her quite forcibly in the head. Catching it as it fell, she looked at the small rock in her palm turning it over slowly.

The small stone that hit Nabiki's head was no coincidence. When another stone tried to hit her a second time, she caught it before it connected to her head. She tossed both stones a few times in the air and searched for the person who could have thrown them. It didn't take her long to find the culprit.

She found Ranma-chan swinging from the ledge on the window waving at her. Ranma managed to do this all while she was upside down. If Nabiki was fond of hitting her head against the wall, she would have done so now. 'His aim is still good,' she thought as she went towards his sibling and raised an eyebrow. There had been only some centimeters between Nabiki and the next samurai, allowing Ranma little room for error.

"I take it you want some hot water?" Nabiki drawled trying to hit Ranma with one of the stones and failing when Ranma swung to the left.

"Mphhh phee--" Ranma mumbled incoherently. The slippery wristbands that he took off so that he could get better purchase on the eaves were in between his teeth, preventing articulation of the words. He held his shoes with his left hand, threw his rocks with his right hand, all the while holding on to the roof with his toes.

Nabiki snatched the wet wristbands Ranma had been biting, as well as his shoes, before she said, "Continue please."

"Yes, please," Ranma answered Nabiki's previous question, his hands finding their way to aid his feet clasped on the roof shingle. "And some blankets, a couple of towels and an okonomiyaki."

"Why don't you get it?" Nabiki asked as she threw him another one of the pebbles that Ranma had thrown to bring her attention to him earlier. "I'm not a servant you know."

Ranma evaded neatly by another swing, which didn't surprise Nabiki all that much, but added to her irritation. "Yeah, yeah. You're my sister. That makes it better," Ranma's reply didn't help with her current mood.

"I swear if--"

"I wasn't your twin, you'd get revenge. Yes, I know," he finished, the line being overly used by Nabiki. He smiled sweetly, trying to cajole her into doing is wishes. "Is that anger and frustration I sense coming from you, Nabiki? That's not good for your chi output you know."

"If I were Ranma Saotome, who depends on his confidence for a chi blast, of course it wouldn't be good." Nabiki smirked a little. "But I'm not Ranma Saotome, am I?"

Ranma grinned. "At the moment, you are. Now would you please get the items I've requested, dearest brother of mine? I'm getting tired of hanging on this ledge."

Shaking her head, Nabiki turned to comply with Ranma's request. "You know, this isn't exactly the way you should treat someone you're asking a favor from," she lectured. She returned after a few minutes, all items wrapped in a furoshiki. "Your items, my lady. Mind telling me where you've been playing?"

"Around," Ranma answered vaguely. She didn't really expect an answer from Ranma.

Nabiki rolled her eyes, if Ranma didn't want to be found that was his problem. If Happosai looked for him, stalling the liege lord would be next to impossible. "Now scoot out of there to whoever you're talking to and be sure to be back before Genma gets here." She was already growing suspicious of the articles he asked her to fetch. "I would really like to know if that samurai he's fetching is panda friendly."

The rain would surely hamper Genma's arrival, especially since Genma would be a panda at the moment. He wasn't the wisest of all people either. Ranma just had the sudden urge to find out if the man Genma was supposed to fetch really was 'panda friendly' as Nabiki termed.

"Yes, ma'am," Ranma answered as she slung the bundle over her back and jumped off the ledge to disappear into the night once more. It was certainly a feat to watch, since Ranma accomplished everything while upside down. Nabiki never did get the hang of maneuverability at odd places like Ranma did.

"Ranko! Wait!" Nabiki called out, Ranma looked back and ran up to her again.

"What is it this time?" Ranma groused as he laid the furoshiki down.

Nabiki-kun held out the tea kettle, Ranma's shoes and the twin wristbands she was holding in her other hand. "I can't take the kettle out of the house." She poured the hot contents over him, then not waiting for the transformation to finish, handed him a bangasa, an oiled paper umbrella, that she propped against the wall along with Ranma's other items. "Try your best not to get wet."

Ranma looked from the umbrella to Nabiki, opening the bangasa. "I can handle rain, Nabiki." He ran out again.

Shaking her head as she watched his twin go, Nabiki closed the small shoji window, not even noticing as Cologne hopped up close to her. "What do you find amusing in the night, Lord Shizukama?"

"Oh, nothing elder... just the wind."

-

Akane shivered slightly as the small shoji doors opened, letting the cool night air into the less than accommodating shed. Thankfully, her teeth weren't chattering and Ifuku's clothes were more comfortable than she thought they would be.

Akane looked up from the brazier as Ranma knelt to get in. Such doors were called 'a humble entrance' and were usually found in these teahouses. She smiled as she watched him set his Chinese slippers outside and drop the bundle he was holding on to the floor. This was the closest she would ever see Ranma as 'humbled'.

"I got some towels an' some blankets. You'd better get out of that wet kimono." Ranma threw her one of the larger towels. Akane caught it, happily thinking that the statement showed his concern for her. "Besides, Ifuku might feel bad when you return her a soggy dress."

"Oh..." Her spirits plummeted. She looked around, but the sukiya was a small single room house. There was nothing to hide behind to change.

"I really didn't bring any extra clothes, because if Na-- Shizukama went around asking for one... well, they might get suspicious." Ranma took an okonomiyaki, wrapped in thin paper and some wooden chopsticks from the small bundle, handing them to her. "There isn't any other food in the house. You'll just have to settle for this until you get home."

Accepting the food Akane nodded then shivered at the cold. Paper houses really didn't do much for protection from the cold elements of the weather, and the brazier was smaller than the traditional fireplace usually located on the main houses.

"You wouldn't get cold if you just took off those damp clothes of yours and wrapped yourself up in a blanket," Ranma suggested sitting opposite of her. "But you really don't have to follow that, it's just an idea, really."

Akane raised an eyebrow at the sarcasm that tinged his voice. 'Well if he wants it that way...' She tugged on the obi that held her dress, undoing the ribbon from its place.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"Well, you suggested to 'take off those damp clothes'. What does it look like?" Akane asked as she pulled out the small ribbon that held her hair in the ponytail Kodachi seemed to favor, spilling it over her shoulders. She hadn't noticed that Kodachi's hair reached below her waist before... she really needed a haircut.

"Yes, but..." he started to protest weakly.

It was the first time she had seen Ranma uncomfortable other from an argument, it was uncanny, she stopped undressing. "If it makes you uncomfortable..." Akane gave him a teasing smile as she trailed off.

He mumbled something under his breath that sounded somewhat like, "It doesn't make me uncomfortable...", but Akane couldn't be sure.

Akane stared at him dubiously, the look on her face suggested that she didn't believe his words. She took out the outer layer of Ifuku's kimono but left the under-kimono on and wrapped herself around the blanket that Ranma offered her, folding Ifuku's outer garments with her shaking hands. "Sure, that's why your right eyebrow is twitching."

"Don't start," Ranma warned as he sat in front of the brazier, across of her. She pulled out the small brazier from the sides into the middle of the tea house so that the warmth would radiate farther.

"Start on what?" She found out that she enjoyed teasing him. He was extremely easy to tease. "I haven't started anything."

They stopped for a moment, and Akane looked him over. He was wetter than she was. Whereas she had damp clothes, he was soaked through his shirt and drawstring pants. His pigtail hung limply and baby hair clung to the sides of his face, dripping water all over the tatami. "Come nearer the fire," she offered. He didn't budge. "Afraid I'd bite?"

He inched closer, although it was hardly an improvement over his earlier position. She resisted the urge to laugh.

She was surprised to find him glaring at her. "What is it you want Kodachi?" he asked impatiently, motioning vaguely towards the world he left so that he could tend to her. "Happosai is just beyond that door, my sister is covering up for me, and we're just lucky that my old man isn't here yet. Other than that, would you please hurry up? Do what you want to do and get it over with."

She had pushed him too far. She forgot too easily that this wasn't a husband she shared ease and friendship with. They did not hold enough trust for easy banter. They did not know each other enough for the boundaries of light teasing. She overstepped her bounds. "I really came for what I said earlier," she soothed him with solemnity, when she failed with jest. Theirs was the beginning of a relationship, but one built on a shaky foundation. "I'm not leaving without it."

"Your goodbye," he echoed. "Tell me a good reason why I should?"

The challenge in his voice did not go unnoticed. He got her there. Why should he give her a goodbye? Why did it seem so important to her anyway? She could have just stayed home and have gotten her good 'ole goodbye some other time. It was just a word. Ranma was different from Ryoga. Ranma was a man who lived in a time of war, a man whose trust was broken before, who did not share his trust easily with his wife. Why would he bestow his favor onto her?

"I only wanted to hear it from you, Ranma. Maybe even a..." 'Maybe even a kiss if I was lucky.' She didn't know what possessed her to say that. Ranma was distant enough as it was. Such an admission would push him even further. She did not know she said her thoughts in a small whisper, but enough for him to hear.

She stood up, the blanket dropping to her feet, forgetting the fact that she was only wearing her under kimono and that the rain was still raging outside. "Maybe I should leave. I've disturbed you enough as it is. It looks to me that you see me as a problem." She took a moment to look at him in the eye. "Am I a problem? If I'm a problem to you..." she didn't finish her sentence.

"No, wait. I didn't mean --" She heard him curse as she ran outside. The rain greeted her. She was soaked in an instant, her hair blocking her view, the ground muddy at her feet. 'Maybe this wasn't such a good idea,' Akane thought as she tried to get her bearings.

Someone caught her hand, and she tried to snatch it back. "Ranma, let me go, I already said I was sorry, okay."

"I -- I'm not Ranma."

Turning around she found Ranko staring back at her, still holding her hand, she was giving her on odd look that bordered on uncertainty. "Oh... Ranko... I'm sorry... I thought you were -- "

"Ranma." The small girl frowned. "I know. You told me. Don't you think you should wait out the rain?" She gave a little cough, motioning towards Akane's current state of undress. "Besides... you're half naked."

Akane looked down at herself. She had forgotten that she left her outer garments by the small house, but she shook her head. "I'm not going back to him. I've taken enough humiliation as it is."

"You think going back to get your clothes is less humiliating than running around Yuigahama in your under kimono." Ranko looked at her incredulously, mockery tinting her voice. "I can see the logic there, Akane."

"Why is it that you people only remember to call me that if you think I'm upset? If Ranma sent you here to scorn me, tell him I'm not interested. Besides, who the hell would take notice in me?" Akane tried to snatch back her arm from Ranko again, but found out the girl had a surprisingly strong grip. "Would you please let me go my own way now?"

"First of all, you'd be surprised at exactly who'll notice a twenty-five year old woman, who's half-naked, by the way, walking alone in the dark, isolated streets of Yuigahama. I should know." Ranko gave her a look that told her to listen, and Akane was uncomfortably sure that Ranko was right. Feudal Japan was much scarier than modern Japan, whereas rapists knew that the police were efficient in the present, bandits were abundant in the past and not all samurai were able to catch them. "Secondly, how are you going to find your way back to Rose Brier, with your energy reserves almost depleted, only a half eaten okonomiyaki in your stomach for dinner, and tired from running?"

"I got here, didn't I?"

"That was different," Ranko pointed out, and Akane could see that the advice Ranko was giving her was the sensible thing to do, but hell would freeze over before she admitted that. "You had daylight. Let me remind you that you didn't find Yuigahama, the samurai found you. What would they do to you when you breach the border a second time?"

It was true. All of it was true. If she was thinking straight, she would have asked how Ranko could possibly know that. She brushed her soaked locks away from her face, the rain trailing down her face, and the image she portrayed seemed so fragile, that Ranko didn't know if Akane would survive if she let her go. "I'll manage. I'm not exactly a porcelain doll."

"You're distraught." Ranko observed, her look bordering on patience she really didn't feel. "I understand that. You've had a fight with Ra-- with Lord Ranma. I understand that too. Now... would you please reconsider? I won't fetch him. I promise."

Akane looked dejectedly at her hands, and Ranko let her arm go before Akane asked, "Tell my why he doesn't understand I'm trying then? At least tell me that."

"You must understand that there are things that are hard to accept, especially if these things come from you." Ranko peered at Akane's downcast eyes, Akane felt that Ranko didn't know what to tell her either. "There are things that take time."

She looked straight at Ranko, her voice lowering to a mere whisper, unsure why she was confiding to Ranma's supposed consort of all people, but finding herself trusting the petite woman that came for her. "How long does he want? I don't think I can wait forever."

"I don't think he can either," Ranko answered in the same lowered voice Akane used. Ranko looked at Akane and the mess she has started again, quite uncertain where she would go from there. She was also very worried for her sake. Happosai was not an easy man to handle, to be caught, Kodachi or not, meant an extreme penalty. Happosai was not a lenient man.

"Ranma!" the feminine voice came from the larger of the two houses. Akane identified the thickly accented voice as Shampoo's. "Is that you?"

Ranko's head shot up at the call, and Akane heard a faint curse coming from the girl. It was dark and the rain coupled with the fog hindered visibility. But Ranko's red hair made her easy to spot in the night. Akane briefly wondered why Shampoo associated the color with Ranma.

"Do you remember the way back to the sukiya?" Ranko whispered urgently as she looked at where the Shampoo was standing. A few more steps and they'd have an instant cat at their hands.

"No." When she ran out, she had no point of origin. She just ran blindly, not knowing where she would go.

Ranko cursed again. There was an urgent tone in her voice now that Akane had not noticed earlier. Taking out the shorter of her two swords, Ranko gave Akane instructions while she handed it over, "Here, take this. When a samurai stops you at the periphery, show it to them. They should recognize it as a Saotome's sword. Tell them it's Lord Ranma's."

There was only time to give Ranko a confused look at the sudden change of plans, not knowing how to handle the weapon that was just handed to her. "Why, aren't you going with me?"

There was a pained expression in Ranko's face as she turned to look at Shampoo. "I can't. If anybody finds you -- I can't." Ranko gave Akane a small push towards the woods. "Go."

Akane turned to run, clutching the short sword tightly against her chest. The insistent tone of Ranko's voice convinced her that it was imperative for her not to be caught.

Many unanswered questions filled her mind. Still, one thought burned clear: She sought Ranma out, and when it was his time to do so, he wasn't the one who came for her. Though she had hard feelings before she left him, Ranma wasn't the one who went to get her. She desperately wanted Ranko to have been him.

-

Ranma-chan watched as Akane stumbled towards the dim path, and then turned to look at Shampoo. She was wisely keeping to the small wooden porch outside the house that was still shielded by the roof.

She looked grimly at Shampoo, knowing that Ranma was the one who needed to advance towards her because of Shampoo's curse. It would be a very difficult situation -- not to mention embarrassing -- for them if Shampoo decided to take a walk in the rain.

"Shampoo," Ranma called out, although he was sure it was the Chinese girl who interrupted his visit with Akane. "Wait for me there." Shampoo was wise enough not to go out in the rain while Ranma or Nabiki was present, but he wanted to make sure that she didn't hear Akane's feet running across the trees. His order was said more to mask her leave than concern for Shampoo's actions.

She didn't know if Shampoo would tell on them or if Shampoo would even realize that she was supposed to tell on them, but somehow it was his first instinct to cover up for Akane. Ranma stepped up to the small porch, and flicked her pigtail away, asking in Chinese, "_ Something you want, Shampoo?>_"

Looking over Ranma's shoulder, Shampoo looked at him inquisitively. "_ Weren't you talking to somebody?>_"

"_ No, I was just walking in the rain.>_" Somehow, Ranma doubted if Shampoo would believe that. Jusenkyo cursed victims tended to have an affinity towards anything water related that they couldn't control. Rain was their primary opponent. "_ I was caught in the rain that's all. Pops is a bit late.>_"

" _Hmmm... I wonder how his charge reacts when they realize the panda is your foster father.>_" It seems like everybody wanted to know that particular story. Shampoo smiled lightly, and Ranma could imagine her entertaining the thought of the samurai killing the panda. After all these years, Shampoo still harbored anger towards Genma -- he knew the girl could bear grudges -- just not for seven years. "_ It would sure be interesting to know.>_"

"Ahh..." An uneasy silence settled on them, Shampoo didn't want to broach the topic of Hanae and Ranma was forced not to tell. The situation was more awkward than the two were willing to let on. In the end Shampoo was the one who broke the silence, deciding to keep Rian's past for another day.

"_ I was wondering... Ranma,>_" Shampoo whispered, biting her lip in indecision, wondering if she really should continue with what had been a moment of insanity. "_ Would you mind terribly if I asked a favor?>_"

"_ Anything for a friend.>_" Ranma smiled. That wasn't quite true, she really couldn't handle a request for a kiss at that moment, but then she doubted that Shampoo would ask that of her now. Especially since it was widely known that even after the curse was found out, Shampoo hated Ranma's girl side.

"Ranma," she addressed him as she looked away. " _Couldn't you...>_" There was another pause signifying how hard Shampoo was trying to get the words out. Ranma gave the Chinese Amazon a supportive smile. "_ Can't you... love me for one night? Even if it was just pretend?>_"

He wasn't prepared for that either. Ranma froze in place, his eyes grew wide and almost shouted out 'What!' then schooled his face before Shampoo turned to look at him for the answer.

He always thought Shampoo got over him; that the Amazon girl chose to forget the past. He always thought she found someone else. The Fiancée Wars was a trying time for all of them, and it was not easy to look back. When it was proclaimed over, everyone had a hard time trying to change their ways. But Cologne gave him the impression that Shampoo moved on. She seemed far too deep in the Amazon matriarch's training and seemed to have no time for anything else.

He wasn't the smartest chip out of the block when it came to things like his fiancées, and he did not noticed any change in Shampoo's attitude, just that she was more withdrawn, more introspective. Now, he realized that what he mistook for pensiveness was a deep sadness. Shampoo was terribly depressed.

Before he could answer however, a panda shoved the two apart followed by a sword-swinging samurai. 'Well, there goes the rest of our party,' Ranma thought as he shouted, "Pops! Can't you for once look at where you're going?"

Ranma jumped from the position Genma pushed her into, chasing after them before Shampoo could ask her question again. Shampoo followed him close behind. 'I'm sorry Shampoo. This is just the way things are.'

* * *

Ukyo cleaned up the grill, putting the extra batter away for some other samurai who would find themselves starving later. She didn't turn the grill off completely, just scraped off the dough that stuck to it. The night was a bit cold and the grill provided the warmth that her kimono could not.

It was promising to be a cold month. She put away the zabuton and wondered exactly what her Aunt Kashiko had been telling her about the fun at Yuigahama. It seemed like any straightforward meeting. There were samurai, liege lord, daimyo and a couple of Chinese Amazons for spice but there was nothing out of the ordinary, nothing that was really special. Yuigahama was just like any other samurai meeting she chanced upon.

The excitement started and ended with Genma Saotome's arrival. Genma entered with his sign saying, 'Please don't kill me!'; a samurai she didn't know, but who was probably a Saotome; Ranma-chan who was trying to get the samurai off the panda; Shampoo who was walking dejectedly in; Nabiki-kun who was calling for hot water; and Happosai ordering them to the next room. In the next second, they were all tucked away behind the shoji, leaving her alone.

She had been too amused to help them then, and now, she really didn't know what to do. The sounds of battle reached her ears, and she shook her head. 'Well at least they sound like they're having fun over there.'

The rain lessened but the air turned more than chilly and Ukyo suppressed a light shiver. She did not bring anything for the cold. Pulling a small rug, she started to wipe off the plates that she finished washing. If the samurai wanted more okonomiyaki later -- they'd just have to wait for the batter to heat up. She was fresh out of pre-made okonomiyaki.

After a moment, what she gauged to be Nabiki-kun slid out of the shoji, shutting the doors behind him, leaning against it. He looked like he'd been through hell and it was a rare sight to see him -- her as such.

"Nabiki," Ukyo called out, but he didn't look her way. "Fine, Shizukama, then."

Just as she said the words, Nabiki-kun turned and stared at her offering a weak smile, as if he'd only seen her now. He really was frazzled and Ukyo had never seen Nabiki frazzled before. "Come sit by the grill. It's warmer."

She took out the zabuton she had just kept, but Nabiki-kun turned to look at the window instead. The rain was still pouring, lessening to a slight drizzle.

Ukyo turned towards the door, a soaking wet furoshiki leaning against the wooden planks, a small oiled umbrella, and a half-eaten okonomiyaki that Nabiki turned to get before he went into the 'briefing room' as Ukyo had termed it. "Are those yours?"

Nabiki-kun turned towards it, a puzzled expression in his face then nodded. "Yeah, they're mine."

"Do you want to talk?" Ukyo asked, Nabiki-kun seemed to be a little more preoccupied than the usual, and he seemed to need a friend right now. She wanted so much to give to Nabiki what Nabiki had given her all those years ago. "Is there a problem?"

Nabiki-kun turned to look towards the window. To Ukyo, it looked like he was seeing much more than the trees, the fog and the rain, and his gaze lingered for far more. "It's not so much as a problem. It's more of a..." He stopped to think for the appropriate words, "Riddle I can't fix."

That was a new one. Nabiki Saotome always had the answer to everything. "It'll plot its own course. In time, you'll get your answer. Some riddles... aren't meant to be answered." She wished she had more advice than vague words, but Nabiki-kun didn't seem to mind.

"Ucchan... about last --"

Whatever he was about to say was cut off by a samurai opening the door. He clutched a dead pigeon in one hand and a wet and crumpled note in the other. The samurai left his wet slippers out of the room and padded up to the tatami. He waved the note in the air, eyes searching the room. "Where's Lord Happosai?"

Both of them pointed to the shoji that Nabiki-kun just came out from. "Just make sure what you have there is important. Lord Happosai doesn't like interruptions."

The samurai didn't answer him as he barged through the shoji. Nabiki-kun raised three fingers, a smile playing on his face. "Three."

"What are you doing?" Ukyo whispered.

"Just watch," he said as he brought it down to two.

"Are you sure about this?" Ukyo asked skeptically.

"Perfectly," he assured her. It was down to one now. "I'd stay clear of that part of the shoji if I were you."

"Why?"

When his small count down reached zero, a loud crash was heard and the samurai they were talking about flew out of the adjoining room, and impacted onto the wall opposite them. "Lord Happosai's predictable, as always."

"I'm glad you find this amusing, boy." Happosai puffed from the wrecked shoji as he stepped out, the samurai were still seated in order that he had left him, Shampoo and Ranma bowed to each other, it had been the two of them Happosai had chosen for the fight before the samurai was interrupted.

He walked over to the man and picked out the letter from his hands. "Make sure he gets treated." One of the samurai rushed to comply. "Who owns this house?"

"Kindoshi, one of the wealthier merchants of the region," Ranma answered.

"Make sure his shoji and tatami are replaced," Happosai ordered as he turned to read the letter. He then turned towards Nabiki. "Ranma, why are you out here?"

Ukyo placed her hand against her mouth as she stared at Ranma, whom awhile ago she had thought was Nabiki in her cursed form. She had her chance to talk to him and she had blown it because of utter stupidity. After all this time, she still couldn't differentiate one from the other in an instant. Damn.

Nabiki-kun noticed this and raised his eyebrows.

"The important things were finished awhile ago. You were pitting me up against almost every one of my relatives. I was getting tired." Ranma shrugged. "I needed some fresh air."

"Tired when you were winning?" Happosai shook his head as he threw the letter at Ranma, who deftly caught it before it cut him across the cheek, "If that's true then Genma hasn't trained you the way you should be. You should be interested in the contents of that letter, boy."

Ranma unrolled the parchment paper that had been inside the small cylinder at the bird's leg, and scanned it. His head shot up searching for and catching Nabiki's attention in the process, a frown starting to form on his face.

"What's wrong?" Nabiki-kun asked as she strode towards him. Ranma handed the letter over to his sister.

"We've got to go," Ranma said, frowning as he straightened. "It's from mother. Someone has torched Nerima to the ground."

* * *

Kodachi looked at the blaze with mild interest. The light sparkled against her eyes. She was almost complete now. Only the topmost layer of her skin was missing. Her muscles were better than when she was nineteen. The peasant that had been chosen for her was not half that bad.

It was also a fast body that knew how to fight. She needn't train much to get everything in order. She should be readying to go for Rose Brier. There were so much to do, and so little time to do it.

With Nerima down, Rose Brier was already in her hands. All it needed was a little tweaking in their part. She admired the fires as another convulsion took over. Fires were always beautiful. "Are they still in Yuigahama?"

"Yes."

'Good.' Kodachi thought as she saw another courier pigeon in the air, Gosunkugi raised his bow to kill it, but Kodachi held him back, "Let the bird go."

"We've set three birds free already," Gosunkugi complained. "Samurai are going to get here."

Kodachi looked at him, giving him a patronizing gaze, as if she was talking to a three-year-old boy. "That's the point."

She really didn't need the whole of Nerima to burn. She actually didn't really need Nerima to burn. It was just a suitable enough distraction to get the twins away from Rose Brier and the fire was a perfect excuse. It also helped matters that Ranma had taken a lot of the samurai to reinforce Yuigahama. 'Ranma's banal as always.'

"Then what's the point of loosing all of these men, to make a small burn in a city that won't make a difference in Ranma Saotome's life?" Gosunkugi demanded.

"Patience is a virtue, Gosunkugi," Kodachi reminded him, smelling the rose in her hand. She didn't want people thinking for her, she was doing enough of the thinking already. If she had to explain her plans to every single lout that passed her way, it wouldn't be much of a plan.

"I want to make Ranma Saotome's life a living hell." Gosunkugi's plans were simple, and they bordered on hate for Ranma Saotome that she nurtured. Gosunkugi probably didn't even know why he hated Ranma. He just did. Kodachi's reasons ran far deeper.

"It can be arranged. For what is hell, really," Kodachi murmured slowly. "But a total lack of happiness?"

* * *

Nabiki-kun stretched his muscles as they neared their house, it had been a long walk and he was tired because of the entire Yuigahama meeting. The lengthy walk home wasn't really helping his sore muscles any and he wanted rest. Trekking through Yuigahama just after midnight, after he had been fighting Shampoo was not one of his favorite pastimes.

At that moment, he envied Cologne for her cane. Not a single speck of mud touched Cologne, her immaculately white hair or her intricately made Chinese dress. Nabiki shuddered as she stepped on a puddle, almost groaning with distaste when the patch of mud covered his entire shoe feeling the sticky substance through the material. The downpour the night before made traveling harder.

When the first twin arches of Rose Brier greeted her she almost shouted in glee, happy to know that it was home. Tired and irked by the fact that she would be leaving almost immediately after they arrived, she was still happy to be home. She wanted a long bath, her usual attire and the right balance of body parts.

Sasuke was with them as soon as the crossed the first arches, the black ninja bowing to each of them.

"We have just received word from Yokohama, sirs. It seems like the city has been attacked." It was not the best news that could've greeted their ears when they arrived home. "We were informed that another samurai was sent to inform you, so we did not bother to order Sara to fetch you."

Ranma nodded to confirm what Sasuke reported before he turned towards Shampoo and Cologne. "I'm sorry that we had to go home before Happosai dismissed us..."

"Nonsense child, I already got what I wanted from Happosai. Apologies aren't necessary." She turned towards Shampoo and raised her eyebrow. "Shampoo seems a little tired as well. The both of you tired my great-granddaughter. You have improved much since we last met."

Both bowed at the compliment, and Ranma turned to Sasuke again. "Is Kodachi home?"

The question surprised Nabiki. To her knowledge, Kodachi was as isolated as the day she fell on that horse. She has not attempted to leave Rose Brier. Ranma had stopped asking that question since their trip to the border last month because it was obvious that Kodachi didn't plan to leave them any time soon.

"She arrived some sticks before you did, sirs." Sasuke motioned towards the house. "It seems she forgot her outer kimono and her shoes, she was wearing nothing but her chemise. She was soaking wet and distressed, but she was well otherwise. Shall I call her?"

"No... No." Ranma shook his head to reinforce his words, and then turned towards Cologne and Shampoo. "I hope you don't mind that Nabiki and I will be leaving you at the house again. I hope that we have more time, but we have to take care of those fires."

"You worry too much, son-in-law. We'll be fine. And we love teaching your children." Cologne took an interest in the students' martial arts, and though Shampoo had tried to hide it, she also tried to put as much help in training them.

"Serve another dinner, Sasuke," Ranma ordered while continuing to walk towards the house.

Nabiki turned towards his companions, not hungry from the full okonomiyaki she ate earlier. "If you don't mind I really would like a bath." Nabiki raised an eyebrow in askance. The three barely acknowledged her with nods, and she took off ahead of them to rest her tired muscles in a relaxing bath, and at least recover her true form.

She entered the house silently, passing by her room to get a fresh set of Chinese clothes, only to find Kodachi looking out to the bay. She did not plan on talking to her, but Kodachi turned around immediately, and offered a little smile, hiding something behind her back.

"You're home."

"You're wet," Nabiki noted, stating the obvious. An important point was trickling in the back of her head, but could not be brought out. "Is there something we need to talk about?"

"Not if we're going to have a repeat of what we talked about tonight," Kodachi said slowly.

So that's where Ranma disappeared to -- she should have realized that when he asked if Kodachi arrived home. 'The sneak,' she thought. He made her cover up while he was having a little fun with Kodachi... or was it... "It depends on your definition of 'repeat'." Technically, whatever they would talk about could not be a repeat of last night, because there was no last night. At least, not for Nabiki.

"So... how did the conference go?" Kodachi was trying hard to strike up a conversation. She would find out that Nabiki didn't want one.

Nabiki shrugged. "It's a meeting. What do you expect?" She rolled his eyes. "A meeting is a gathering of people who singly can do nothing but together decide that nothing can be done. It's a classic."

That silenced her for a wile. It was obvious Nabiki wasn't in the mood to talk. "Ranma... I -- I really want to work things out." Kodachi looked out of the window. "Can we try to work things out?"

Nabiki froze up, this was going against every rule she set up for herself when she was a child. Never try to pretend to be Ranma when it involved a woman in love with him and she was talking about that particular infatuation at the moment. It brought her immense trouble with her brother and with his fiancées. That was... if what Kodachi was showing was love. "We can try." Nabiki sighed. "Making it work is another story."

"That's all I ask for, really," Kodachi answered softly as she turned out to look at the bay again.

Nabiki took that as a signal to end the conversation and gratefully stepped away from the woman. She noted all of the words that were said -- and those that weren't as she stepped into the bathhouse, leaving Kodachi to her thoughts. Nabiki shut the shoji behind her and leaned against it.

Kodachi gave her more than what she was willing to know about her brother's love life. She wanted that knowledge given to her by Ranma, not extracted from Kodachi. She realized that she knew so little of her brother's new feelings for Kodachi. It unsettled her.

She always knew where things stood, and Kodachi having amnesia threw everything off balance.

In the end it really didn't matter anyway... she wasn't Ranma and only Ranma could decide for himself. Too many questions, but not all questions had answers... and not all answers were pleasant ones.

-

Ranma sat against the roof, his mind wandering over the recent events. Nerima and Yokohama were torched at the same time. Coincidence? He wasn't a strong believer in the word. People make things happen. Fate doesn't screw your life up, people do.

Sometimes you yourself did. It was his fault that Nerima and Yokohama were poorly protected. He should have known that any enemy would have attacked there. But the attacks have centered on the border, he had been sure they wouldn't bring it inside Sagami. He was wrong, and a lot of people died because of his mistake.

He closed his eyes at the impending headache, and opened them to find out he wasn't alone.

"Hey," Nabiki said softly trying to get her attention. She was fresh from her bath and her hair was still damp, so she opted to let it loose, hanging freely around her waist, managing to get her clothes a little damp. She sat down beside him on the smooth roof, her fingers resting slightly against his shoulders for balance before she let go.

"Hey," Ranma murmured in greeting as he turned towards his twin sister. Echoes of words he had exchanged with Shampoo not too long ago.

"I thought I'd find you here." Nabiki smiled as she looked at the stars that he had been observing a while ago. "Wherever we are, they still look the same, don't they?"

"Yeah," Ranma answered, it had been a pastime when they were younger, because they were left to their own devices in their free time. Since their childhood wasn't spent playing with toys, but with hard battle they spent their free time together, trying to find a silent moment they could share. They shared numerous picnics, tree-hopping, and star gazing moments together, because back then, they only had each other. They named what they thought they saw and laughed at their silliness. It was something that they always enjoyed together.

"How are you?" Their conversations usually bordered on the Sagami or on the problems of Nerima now. They rarely had time for each other, and such conversations were precious. "It's been a while. You seem tired Ranma, does the night bother you?"

"Hmmm? No... no," he answered distractedly, still starting at the stars, or at nothing.

"Then what does?" Nabiki asked as she folded her arms and rested her head against them. "Does your wife trouble your thoughts again?"

"Does your husband trouble yours?" he shot back. Sometimes, when he didn't like answering her questions he answered with one of his own. Usually repeating the question she asked him, forcing her to answer for the two of them and try to see just how prying her questions were.

"A good question," she teased. They were too alike her brother and her, she was married to a person she didn't love, and he was married to a person who didn't want love. She was truthful in her answer, "Sometimes."

"Sometimes," Ranma echoed his sister, both to stress her answer and to answer to her own question. He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "Nabiki, have you ever wished that you were born out of caste? That you weren't samurai? Maybe even eta?"

"Will being eta make a difference?" Nabiki had always been like that, asking question for a question, giving an answer only when she wished too.

He stopped to ponder over it a moment before answering, "I guess not."

"Then I'd rather not." Nabiki reclined on the roof, her hands behind her back, trying to get comfortable on the cold shingles. "We were born into privilege, and it means certain responsibilities. Being heir must weigh you down so much."

"It's not so much as being an heir as being a puppet," he explained as he copied Nabiki's position, lying down next to her. "I don't like being played as a fool, Nabiki. I'm turning out to be one."

"No one can make you foolish without your consent." It was one of their old lessons and it received a smile from Ranma as well. "There, that's so much better."

Silence rang in the air just as loud as any other words could have. A cat purred in the distance, breaking their silence and both shivered at the sound. "Do you think the amnesia is real?" He's been thinking these questions for a while now, and it bothered him because there were no easy answers.

"Do you want it to be real?" Nabiki asked as both of them registered the sounds of the household preparing for the night.

"Maybe," he answered.

" _You know... before, when I met you and Kodachi together... when I was granted omiai I was happy that Happosai had settled you in with a good wife. You seemed happy on your wedding day too,>_" Nabiki said in Chinese, because emotions were better talked about in Chinese and because no one could listen in the language. She sighed, brought out of weariness of the long years that passed. " _But I knew you didn't love her, maybe like, but not love... Now, I'm not quite sure. I think you're managing to fall in love with her.>_"

"Do you think I'm playing out my cards wrong, Nabiki? Am I making a big mistake?" the worry in his voice didn't go past Nabiki.

"You aren't perfect, Ranma," Nabiki whispered. "You're twenty-nine, you're allowed to a few mistakes. It doesn't matter that you're heir to Anything Goes, that you're a hatamoto, that you're samurai. It's all just words, and when you strip all of that... you're... you. Does that make any sense? Life's like that. What matters is that we learn."

"When you strip all of that," Ranma told her. "I'm nothing."

Nabiki smiled as she gave his hand a comforting squeeze. "Is that a feeling of inadequacy coming from you, Ranma? Careful, it could be bad for your chi output." It earned her another small smile. "That's not true Ranma, when you strip all that, you have an extremely honorable man, who's loyal to his family, who's a good father to his children and a good brother to me."

"Thanks, Nabiki." He sighed. "You're always there when I need you."

"It's what twins are for, so that you never walk down a path alone." Nabiki sat up then looked down on her brother. "I have asked you this before, and I will ask you again. I want the truth. Do you love her?"

He looked away. She needn't mention the name for him to know who she was talking about. "Maybe, I don't know anymore, Nabiki. Everything's confusing me. She's different."

"How so?"

"Have you heard her laugh? It's sweet, and she has the most beautiful smile... that's almost... cute." He stopped further comments when Nabiki raised her hand to his forehead. "What the!"

"No... you don't have a temperature." She shook her head exaggeratedly and clucked her tongue, heaving him up so that he was sitting. "Have you been taking drugs again, because if you have, I'm going to be forced to tell mom that you're--"

"Nabiki!" Ranma sat up slapping her hand away from his forehead. "I'm not delusional. I don't take opium and you know it. I'm telling you the truth. Akane's not an illusion."

Ranma didn't know if Nabiki's look was sympathetic or disapproving. "You are in love," she pronounced the words as if it were a diagnosis of a rare and untreatable disease. "I've never been surer of the fact than now. I wish you could've heard yourself 'she has the most beautiful smile... that's almost... cute...'" she said the words in a small whiny voice while trying to match her cadence with his. She shook her head. "I've heard kawaii used by kids, but never by a grown up."

"Nabiki!" He glared at her antics. "I'm serious here."

"I'm serious, too. Damn it, Ranma." Nabiki took a deep breath. "We're leaving tomorrow, Ranma. I'm sure we won't be back for a week or so. Kodachi is lying awake right now puzzling why the master of the house isn't sleeping, and it's not because she wants him in her bed. I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"I know."

"Then you better listen to me, Ranma and take this to heart." Nabiki held his shirt and shook it a couple of times for emphasis. "I want you happy, and if Kodachi can give you that happiness, I'll step aside. Kodachi can't give you what you want --"

"I'll watch my back for you," he assured her, not letting her finish the threat that was obvious in her voice.

"See that you do." Nabiki stood up and jumped down from the roof. "Good night, brother, be sure you're up by dawn."

Ranma nodded in agreement but told her, "I'll stay here awhile longer."

Jumping down from the roof, Nabiki gave her brother one last look before she entered the doors of the house below. Ranma looked at her then back at the stars. 'Question is, what do I tell mom when I see her tomorrow?'

It was obvious that when Happosai made him marry Kodachi that Nodoka was less than happy with the match. Hell, she was livid when she found out exactly who Kodachi Kuno was. Nodoka was a forgiving woman, but she could bear a grudge and she was overprotective of her two children. Sometimes, Ranma thought that returning to Japan needed him to be five again, always under his mother's watchful eyes.

For her to find out that her son was falling in love with the woman... Ranma shook his head. His mother wasn't unreasonable. Traditional? Yes. Over-protective? Yes, but never unreasonable. He just wondered if falling in love with Kodachi was something she deemed within the realm of reason. Sometimes, he himself didn't.

He sat up from his supine position and massaged his already pounding head. "Akane... what the hell am I going to do now?"

As if by cue, Akane walked out of the same doors Nabiki had entered not too long ago. Her hair was down, and she was wearing one of the new kimonos he had asked Yofuku-san to make for her. It was the kimono he favored, the one with the moon and the stars embroidered in deep midnight blue silk.

For the second time in months, Ranma was looking down at his wife. She wrapped her hands around herself and shivered lightly in the cold breeze. It was cold, the weather had improved, but it was still cold. It was a tame autumn, and there seemed to be no promise of snow, but it didn't prevent her from shaking.

He turned to leave her alone to her thoughts, but she called out, "Ranma, is that you?" Having been spotted changed his plans a bit. He landed down the grass, a few feet from her. He hadn't been planning to talk to her, but … he didn't want to leave her alone so soon after she ran away in the rain.

'It's the second time I've been spotted in one night. I must be getting rusty,' Ranma thought as he turned to face her. "Kodachi, shouldn't you be sleeping?" he managed to insert a slight reprimand in his tone, as well as the right amount of concern. She dismissed the reprimand easily.

"Yes, but the man of the house seems to take his precious time in doing so," she tilted her head, her finger tapping her chin lightly in a teasing gesture. "Would you happen to know why?"

He didn't take the bait but he walked towards her. It was difficult to talk to someone more than three arm-lengths away, and the house was already trying to sleep. "It's always hard to sleep at night... especially now, the nights are cold here. They usually are."

"Oh?" she murmured. He didn't realize the double meaning the words had for Akane.

"Nights here are always cold." He turned to look at her and watched her shiver again. If they had the relationship that most man and wife shared, he would have offered his warmth, instead he rubbed his thumb against his knuckles trying not to look awkward, ignoring her discomfort. "Nabiki and I are leaving tomorrow. There have been some problems at some of the cities."

"And when exactly were you planning to tell me this? Hmm?" Akane asked the slightest tone of teasing in her voice.

"I wasn't going to," he answered immediately. He was honest to a fault, even with his wife, and mostly relied on Nabiki for his deceit. He never managed to mask his feelings from his eyes, and his principles didn't allow him to say an outright lie.

'I guess I should be happy with the blunt honesty rather than calculated lies.' She thought, but a lie would have been so much better to live with, and would have hurt far less. "I see. Why the sudden change?"

"No reason," Ranma said, reaching the part of uneasiness in the conversation he hated. Silence is something easily misunderstood, and silence was a part in the conversation he could never control. "You should get inside. It's getting cold." He didn't turn to watch her go.

"Don't you want your sword back? Ranko gave it to me earlier," Akane explained before she left, fidgeting with the hem of her dress. "I mean you might need it..."

He gave a sigh he had another small sword, "Keep it. You need it more than I do." Akane nodded as she turned to conform to his wishes, moving towards the house. She stopped before she reached the steps turning around to face him again, her hands shaking. For a while, Akane didn't know whether it was from nervousness or the breeze. "I just want to ask you something."

There was a smile playing around his face when he lifted his eyes to meet hers. "Everybody wants to ask something from me tonight. Why should you be any different?" He sighed when he saw her dejected look. "I'm sorry." It was the first time she heard him apologize sincerely for anything, it was entirely out of character. "I didn't mean anything by it. What do you want to ask?"

Gulping, Akane took a deep breath as she slowly walked towards him one more time. When she finally stood inches away, she stopped and whispered, "I just wanted to ask if..."

"My buttons aren't going to answer you," Ranma told her exasperatedly, when she stopped in front of him. Her eyes were fixed on his shirt collar, which was on eye level. She had no courage to look into his eyes but she complied with his unvoiced wish and met his gaze.

Predictably, she lost her nerve almost immediately. Ranma had the most expressive eyes she had ever seen. Right now, she didn't know if she could ask what she had wanted to. "I think I should go."

Ranma caught her arm in his, before she could run out. "That's twice you've told me that in one night." He pulled her towards him in such a way that she was facing him. "Don't run away when you're talking to me." She nodded but still kept her gaze locked at his buttons. This time, he let her stare at them, knowing that another reprimand might cause her to run away again.

"You're one to talk," she accused. He was starting to feel silly talking to her while she was staring at his collar, but listened to her as she continued, "You sent Ranko after me. It's almost as if you wanted me to run away."

"That's not true," Ranma disagreed, not letting go of her arm thinking that she might run away from him again. "There were circumstances that prevented me from going after you."

"But you didn't." It was probably the worst she had felt in days. At least they weren't getting into a fight. At least they were talking.

"I won't defend myself for my actions. I cannot reason when there is no reason that you'll accept," Ranma answered, finally letting go of her arm. Cursing, and not for the first time, his vow of silence regarding Jusenkyo, wondering if she would indeed believe it if he told her about it. "If you want to leave and run away again, you may do so."

That made her think, but she didn't turn to leave... instead, she continued what she had set out to do. "I was wondering... Ranma... Can you prove that you don't love me? If you can... I'll... leave... I'll leave Rose Brier. I won't bother you again."

"Prove... that I don't love you?" he asked her in the same way she had asked him, in a small barely audible whisper, in halting words, in uncertainty. She was close enough for him to feel her breath against his thin Chinese shirt. "Can you?" he countered.

Akane could feel his breath was warm against her shoulder, and his eyes looking intently at hers, even if she didn't meet his. And because she lost the last remnants of her courage with her small plea, Akane decided to keep staring at the top button of his Chinese shirt. "Maybe."

He was amused by her request, not knowing what to do next. "How do you propose I do that, Akane?"

She took a stilling breath, trying to use her reserves. There was a long period of silence while she composed herself but he waited patiently. When she finally gathered the courage to look at his eyes, facing up to the rejection she might see there she said, "By giving me what I asked for."

"You want your goodbye." He looked at her, confused, it was the most persistent demand he had ever received from her, and it was also the most difficult to give. It troubled him. "It's the strangest request you have ever asked me."

Akane shook her head. "Prove it, Ranma, prove that you don't love me and I'll leave you alone. It's what you want isn't it?"

Was it? He didn't know the answer to that either. What would he prove with one goodbye? He stared at her. It was almost as if he was talking to her through his eyes. "We won't know the answer until I give you what you ask for."

"And will you give it to me?" she asked slowly. She could hear her heart beating in her chest. She wondered if he knew what she was asking of him. If he knew what his goodbye would mean to her.

"Tell me this is real first. Swear to me that this isn't a mind game." He needed some assurance that what she was asking for was what he thought she was asking for. He wanted to know if this would last for forever and a day or just a moment of illusion.

Akane's finger reached out towards Ranma's lips stopping whatever he was going to say. "I thought we were past this conversation."

"I assure you my patience is tested every day."

"I swear," Akane whispered, and Ranma gave Akane the kiss that she had asked for a few hours before.

-

Shampoo backed away from the roof, swinging inside the house through the windows. Her great-grandmother raised an eyebrow at her entrance but she didn't comment, continuing to comb her long white hair.

Shampoo knew the moment she saw Kodachi turn back to talk to Ranma, that she shouldn't have watched. The conversation was intimate and stripped them both to who they were and not who they thought they ought to be. She knew that staying had been an infringement of their privacy and that she was trespassing on their rights. But she wanted to see what Ranma would say to her request.

Some would say it was masochistic for her to watch; she would like to think of it as being realistic.

Ranma had no part in her life anymore. She had been resigned to the fact that he had been married seven years ago. But it was only now that he showed love for Kodachi.

It had taken her seven years to get over his marriage. How long would it take for her to get over Ranma falling in love?

-------------------------

Shampoo dropped herself from Ryoga's shoulder, landing perfectly on her cane. "Here you are sonny boy, the Ichimoto Towers, room 743." Shampoo unlocked the door in an instant.

"How did--"

"I open the door? Amazon Technique buried in 2000 years of history." Shampoo smiled as he stared at her, now she knew why her great-grandmother used that particular answer. It was a grand feeling for someone to feel ... awed.

"I hope you don't get lost again, sonny boy." She pointed down the halls towards the elevator. "I doubt whether I'll be able to find you again."

"Arigato, granny," Ryoga thanked her as he started to go inside. He stopped then looked at her. "But why did you tell me all of this? You could have skipped the part of your request... or the one when you were looking at Ranma and Akane... or..."

"I felt that you needed it," Shampoo answered, she shook her head. "We both lost something, Ryoga. I think you got the worse end of it. You lost the woman you loved to a man more than two hundred years dead."

"You lost him twice," Ryoga pointed out.

"No... I lost him only once," Shampoo corrected him, shaking her head. "I lost him when he married Kodachi. He wasn't mine to lose when he fell in love with Akane. Not anymore."

"Did you love your husband?"

"Technically, Ranma was my husband." She smiled, her mood changing almost instantly. "But yes, I understand what you're asking me, and I did love him. But there's something different about your first love, Ryoga, and Ranma was my first. Of course, I never told anyone this."

"Then why tell me?"

"Because I felt that you needed to know. We're both in the same boat, you and me," she restated the words she said earlier, because Ryouga was asking the same question. Then as if to dismiss the bleak thought Shampoo smiled again, she nudged Ryoga into his apartment. "I'll be waiting to hear from you after you read those letters, Ryoga."

"Thank you." Ryouga stepped inside the house holding the door ajar as studied the small woman in front of him.

"You're welcome," Shampoo replied. He was about to shut the door when Shampoo called out, "Treasure her letters, Ryoga, they were sent with love."

With that, she walked away. There was something different when she walked those streets again. It was as if she was more alone now than she had been before, the people more daunting.

'The follies of the young... to be young again...' the thoughts were disjointed and erratic. She hadn't thought about Ranma in ages, choosing instead to remember him fondly through his offspring instead of dwelling on the past that they did not share.

The heaviness of her heart increased as she walked farther and farther from Ryoga's apartment, choosing the busy streets rather than go roof hopping, choosing the longer road than the shorter one. Telling the story to Ryoga brought back so many memories of her youth, and so many mistakes because of it.

"Maybe I shouldn't have granted this favor," Shampoo grumbled as she steadily walked through the roads of Tokyo, her hand firmly gripping her great-grandmother's staff.

'Ranma never did answer my question...' Shampoo sighed again losing herself in the crowd. 'He never answered if he could love me... even if it was just pretend.'

* * *

**Endnotes:  
**none (gasp! it's a miracle!)

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**Disclaimer: **Ranma and co. were borrowed from the brilliant mind of Rumiko Takahashi. Book that the story was based from was 'When there was Hope.'

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**Author's Ramblings**:

Okay, it's not my best, but I like it :)

People have been telling me to get them together, and this is the best I can do for now. Please, they have to have a few problems before a happy ending. Sleeping Beauty had to sleep, The Beast had to be the beast before becoming a prince, etc, etc. :) (You get the idea)

The formatting of the chapter is different because this is... not Akane's letter, as most of the story has been. This chapter has been Shampoo's story. :) And because I took pity on poor Ryouga for just having a Prologue and an Epilogue, so here is my grand Ryouga gesture.

Ifuku and her husband doesn't come out of this one, sorry. More about them in chapter 11 and 12 :) (You're dying to know what the twist in them is, aren't you?) Not just yet. Patience is a virtue (I'm quoting people too much)

If you're a bit lost on the heirarchy of Feudal Japan, which I'm using here I copied something down from one of my library books: Just go down to my livejournal account and click on Rend there, and there should be an entire heirarchial map there... Although well I could also write it here. I'll write it out in chapter fourteen (For the people who missed it)

**What changed in the Feb/April '06 edit: **

Howard Russel has brought to my attention that a lot of the terms in Nabiki – Ukyo conversation were largely from Freud's method of psychological analysis (founded around the 1890's) and therefore beyond Nabiki's knowledge. Therefore a few substitutions were made for this fic:

Inferiority complex – sense of inadequacy  
In denial - lying so much you believe it yourself  
Psychoanalysis - reading your character (but this is not in this particular chapter)  
ego - confidence

Howard Russel also pointed out the inconsistency of the dates or rather -- names months. The Japanese does not use the Gregorian calendar names, but rather uses numeric names for the months (ichigatsu or first month, through junigatsu). More information on this is found in the footnotes under month. Feel free to correct my Japanese info if you find them wrong too. It's how we all learn.

I revised the scene with Ranma-Akane interaction in the Sukiya. I thought the initial way it was written portrayed Akane as too childish. I guess that change was also pivotal in answering the question how and why Akane could love Ranma so 'early' in the story.

I also deleted a part of Nabiki realizations, and a part of Akane monologue about her loving Ranma. It was too sappy for my own good, and it should be READER inferred rather than told explicitly by the story. I think this is also the reason why too many people think Akane fell in love with Ranma too early.

I am starting a system wide edit of the fic, changing punctuation and changing the commonly misused words, etc.

Thanks for enduring the long rant (possibly skipping the long rant)

There, now we're finished :)

iCe

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**webpage**: iCe _dot_ esmartdesign _dot _com  
**email **siuane _at _gmail _dot _com  
**LJ **iCe of dreams _with the spaces as underscore_

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I write when the spirit moves, and I make sure it moves every day.  
_unknown_


	12. Part 11: August

**10/28/06** -- punctuation mark, common errors fix

**Special Thanks to:  
**Roja Cyd  
Maurice Phillip  
Dream and Angel  
Jourdan Bickham  
Byooki Desu  
Don Granberry  
Acetylene  
Negai

And to the person reading this.

* * *

If little labor, little are your gains,  
Man's fortune is measured by his pains.  
**Herrick**  
_Unknown_

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_**Rendezvous with Fate v. 3  
**by iCe  
**Chapter 11**_

_...I thought we'd finally understand each other but... well... this isn't a fairytale. It didn't last for long..._

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The sun hadn't risen yet, but the Saotome household was already alive. The servants were bustling about and the children were already by the gates.

Nabiki was wearing her usual red Chinese outfit, her backpack already strapped on. A smile plastered itself across her face as she watched Ranma say goodbye to the children. Her foot tapping impatiently against the ground was the only thing that showed her discomfort with the affection that he gave them. It was a touching scene, and although Nabiki rarely gave more than the occasional hug, the children knew how much she really did care.

"We'll be back by next week," Ranma said as he ruffled Hanae's hair and patted Sei's shoulder. "You be good under Cologne and Shampoo, okay?"

They nodded and Ranma took the pack Hanae offered him. Nabiki turned to the children. "Be sure to have that oath memorized before we get back home. Your induction is in two months."

"Shall we go then?" Nabiki asked Ranma. The morning was still a bit cold and the little warmth their silk clothes gave did nothing to lessen Nabiki's shivers. She really wanted to start moving and warm her muscles. If the day wasn't going to turn out hot and the hakama a bit lighter, she would have preferred the traditional garments.

The walk towards Yokohama would take her three days. Ranma's jog for Nerima would take twelve hours. She just really wanted to get to Yokohama, fix the problem and get back to sewing the family crest for the children... Sewing was not one of her better skills and she needed more time to perfect it.

"I didn't notice Kodachi by the gates this morning, Ranma," Nabiki commented hoping to get a reaction from her brother. "Shampoo wasn't there either."

"Neither was Cologne. They're tired from Yuigahama. I asked the samurai not to wake 'em up." Ranma shrugged, his mind obviously on something else. "They're already going to put up with Hanae and Sei. They need all the energy they can muster."

Nabiki raised an eyebrow at that, noting that he avoided talking about his wife. She was surprised, usually he would just bluster. Nabiki resolved to try to remedy that. "Hmmm... and Kodachi?" She really didn't expect an answer. She was surprised when he provided one.

"She's resting."

Nabiki didn't try to raise the topic again. According to Ifuku, Kodachi had not slept in her bed last night. Then again, Nabiki did not want to jump to conclusions. It always made things messier than they should be.

"I'll check Nerima to see if they know anything, and if mother has anything on who attacked. I doubt there will be." Ranma clenched his fist. Nabiki sensed that the attacks were getting to him. " Yokohama is in lesser danger than Nerima... it's surrounded by Happosai's hans. It's a surprise we actually have problems this far north. If everything goes as planned, I'll probably see you in Yokohama... otherwise... I'll send for you by pigeon."

Sending letters by pigeon was not the best option, but all trusted men were out fighting at the border or at both attacked places. A man simply could not be spared merely for message delivery. "Refrain from using letters too much," Nabiki reminded Ranma.

He nodded. At least they had already arranged a code when they were younger. Any intercepted letter would not bring them danger ... he hoped.

"I don't get the motive. Nerima I could understand..." Nabiki trailed off. Nerima was their main land. All their people, samurai, koku went into Nerima to be evenly distributed. It was logical to attack the central city. "But Yokohama? It's practically a poorly drained mud field!"

"To anyone else it is... but to us..." Ranma looked at her thoughtfully as he left the statement hanging. "What worries me is that they attacked the Kannai, the inner city. They didn't manage to do much damage to Kangai. For them to get past the outer city..."

"Kannai, that's the residential area by the hills. The farms are a bit in Kangai." Nabiki paused. That meant that the damned koku produce for the past month just went down in ashes and some of the silk was destroyed. The fields were probably a mess, and most of all they were bound to have lost people. "Whoever did this knew enough of our layouts to have broken into the cities just when there are **no** samurai around and taken down our major producer and our major city."

"That means we'll have to lessen everybody's koku intake. I don't even know how we're going to account for all of the dead." Ranma took a deep breath as he tried to clear his head. "I'll asses the damage in Nerima, but I'm sure Nerima can hold its own after some days. Just as soon as I finish, I'm heading towards you. Try to keep their morale up."

They stopped just as soon as the fork in the road greeted them. Ranma turned to Nabiki. "What path are you taking?"

"The Tokai road. I might as well check the samurai on my way and gather a few helping hands if I can. Yokohama is going to be a **big** deal." Nabiki frowned then, finally decided she could do nothing about it while she was still in Rose Brier. Her frown melted to a smile when she remembered that Ranma would probably see their mother and she gave a small uncharacteristically impish wave. "Say hi to mother for me."

"Then I guess this is where we say goodbye, I promise I'll finish up with Nerima as soon as I can. I'll meet you in Yokohama," Ranma said as he considered the distance that they were going to travel. If she had a horse Nabiki would probably reach Yokohama in two days. As it was, maybe three.

She hated the reasons why people could not use a horse, especially when their town was named 'Trainer of horses'. Horses were a sign of privilege and not wealth. Happosai did not even grant his own **heir** the right to ride horses.

Nabiki frowned at the long walk ahead of her. It was possible that the people would have half of their houses rebuilt by the time she got there. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. See if you can get horses too." With that they both took to the trees.

* * *

Akane woke up with a smile on her lips. She didn't mind that her husband was gone for the day. She didn't mind that he was away for the week. All that mattered was that she knew he loved her.

She was happy. It was the happiest she'd been in days. As last night played repeatedly in her head, she happily turned to get one of her clean day kimonos and practically skipped for the rest of the day. Her husband loved her.

He couldn't deny that fact because he had shown her affection through that single kiss. She really couldn't say that there was some kind of clear evidence other than that one instance, though.

In that single moment of courage, she had expected her husband to protest, leave her without proving what she had asked, but he had stayed and talked with her, something they had not done without the shouting matches they both had to endure. It had been his agreement to her favor that had boosted her courage to what she had wanted to do.

What she had set out to prove failed her, but had shown her something more than she had wanted: that her husband loved her. It was this single revelation that made her walk in a perpetual state of exhilaration.

At the moment, few **could** actually put a dent on her happy mood. Even the thought that she still wasn't given permission to teach Hanae hardly made a difference.

She was setting her heart on training the girl and whenever she could she put in hours sparring with Ifuku and training herself for the fight that would give her the right to teach the girl.

Through the days, Akane discovered that Ifuku had great potential. She was stronger than most women were, and she had a great deal of endurance. She knew the basics, so when sparring matches came, Ifuku, although mostly on the defensive, knew how to take a good hit, and could give a nasty punch from time to time. She was also very nimble, and although Akane had every advantage over her maid, she found herself losing occasionally.

"How do you do that, Ifuku?" Akane asked as she took the proffered hand, from the dojo floor. "How do you manage to beat me after a few rounds?"

"Well, as Lady Nabiki said, you have a pattern, my lady. You really are very skilled, but skill comes down to nothing if you don't fix all of your bad habits," Ifuku answered, then went to get a towel. "It took me a few times to get your pattern, but Lady Nabiki caught on to it in your first fight. Lord Ranma can do so too."

"Well, I know of the pattern, but I really don't know how to take it out." Akane sighed as she rubbed her sore arms. "I've never really paid any attention to all of that. I can teach it, but it's really **different** when you try it."

The main reason for Akane's problem was that she relied entirely on her strength to win a fight. In doing so, she would manage to knock out an opponent before her fighting pattern emerged. With the Saotomes, however, since their main skill was speed, fights with them generally tended to be drawn out endurance matches.

Ifuku nodded. "Well, you should do so now. But then... how were you last night, Lady? Did you sleep well?"

Akane blushed a little. "Why do you ask?"

"If Lord Ranma doesn't wish to continue with the fight, this might not be necessary at all." Ifuku looked at Akane, waiting for her answer, but it didn't come. "I'm sorry to pry, but I didn't find you in your quarters last night, and Lord Ranma did take a little time to sleep."

Akane didn't mind the question, it just surprised her. "I slept in one of the other rooms, actually. Someone shifted my room around and I couldn't find it. I was terribly tired and..." The rooms had been shifted the night before because of the attacks at Nerima. It was the usual arrangement when there was trouble and she didn't think that sleeping in another room would have worried Ifuku so much. "Ranma and I talked last night. We mended our differences. He gave me my goodbye, Ifuku."

A smile played on Ifuku's face as she handed Akane the towel she had fetched from the benches. "Your goodbye? The one that you sought to get when you lost my outer kimono? It sounds like we really don't need all of this after all, my lady."

"Ifuku!" Akane cried out, a little bit embarrassed, gathering the meaning of Ifuku's probing questions. "Nothing happened. It was a goodbye, what happens in goodbyes anyway?"

"Oh, I don't know..." Ifuku left her statement hanging, leaving Akane to guess what she meant. "Do you need assistance in your bath, my lady?"

"No. But thank you for the offer, Ifuku. Could you please just get me a clean kimono?" Akane requested. Ifuku bowed and went to fetch the garments. Akane wiped her face with the towel and headed to the bath house only to find Shampoo by the halls.

Shampoo stopped in her tracks the moment she had seen Akane across the hall. It was obvious that the woman was avoiding Akane, and Akane didn't have a clue to the reason for her behavior.

She offered the girl a warm smile. "Shampoo, good morning. How is the children's training coming along?" She was a bit annoyed by the fact that Nabiki and Ranma gave someone else consent for children's training over her, but shrugged it away. In a week, she would know if Ranma was bullheaded enough to keep her from teaching the children or not.

She nodded and was about to continue on her way, when Shampoo turned around and rammed Akane against the wall. In one swift movement, Shampoo was holding a dagger against Akane's throat, another arm was keeping Akane firmly pinned against the wall. It surprised Akane, for Shampoo had shown no outward hostility since they met.

"Uh... Shampoo?"

"I... know that you've been chosen. Your amnesia is possible to believe, and Shampoo grateful for the warm welcome you have given my Grandmother and Shampoo in Rose Brier." Akane didn't think it was the wisest time to make a wisecrack about her grammar, or ask if this was the way Amazon women showed their thanks.

"But Ranma and Nabiki are both of the Amazon tribe and the Amazons don't let go of their own. Promise Shampoo that you will not harm them. Swear it on your life," she said the words with such dead sincerity, that all Akane felt she could do was to give the woman what she asked for.

"Take care of Ranma, Akane." It was the first time Akane heard Shampoo refer to her by her real name. "If you don't, someone might just steal him. I don't think I can take it if another one does."

Shampoo let her go slowly, putting the small dagger she had pressed against Akane's neck back into her hair, a mere hair ornament once again. "You keep your promise, Saotome Kodachi, because the twins deserve far more."

Akane watched the girl retreat back into the house. Her eyes still remained fixed on the door even though Shampoo was already long gone. She rubbed her hand against her neck where the dagger managed to break her skin, a small line going across the flesh.

She looked at the blood and rubbed her fingers slowly. Kodachi had probably done something wrong against Shampoo, too. But then, with Kodachi's attitude, she was willing to bet there were few whom the woman had not yet insulted.

Entering the bathhouse, she sighed. Shampoo would certainly follow up on that threat that she had given her, at least she knew that she wouldn't incur the wrath of the girl. She had no plans of going against her word.

-

Shampoo did not let Akane see the tears that streaked her face as she ran. She had loved Ranma unconditionally, and he had loved her like a sister. When things like that happened, it was painful and difficult to let go.

Shampoo loved the almost physical pain that came with saying goodbye, for that was what she had come to Japan for really... to tie up something that she had not been able to when the twins married.

She loathed herself for not being courageous enough to do it in person, but Ranma had Akane now. She fervently hoped that Akane would take care of Ranma, the way she had envisioned she herself would.

-

Cologne raised her eyebrows as Shampoo ran in from the hallway, dark lavender locks trailing behind her. She followed her great-granddaughter in and found her rocking back and forth in the corner, hugging herself.

"Shampoo?" Cologne asked, trying to get the girl's attention. She stood on top of her cane while looking down at the girl. She had never seen Shampoo break down before, but since their arrival in Japan, she had done so twice, in two days. It was unnatural and overdue. Sometimes, Shampoo needed to release the feelings she had long kept hidden.

_" I threatened Kodachi in her own house, great-grandmamma, " _Shampoo murmured in Mandarin, staring off into the space, taking comfort in her great-grandmother's presence, but speaking as if she was talking to no one in particular. "_ Does it make me a bad person? "_

Amazons were devoted to their laws, and laws were usually ingrained into its people. One of those laws was common decorum inside someone else's house. Laws also tended to punish severely. _" No, it makes you human. "_

Shampoo's head shot up. _" Does it? I shouldn't have done that. She welcomed me into her home. I have received nothing but kindness here, even though there has been bad blood. " _

_" You're making this bigger than it should be. People are allowed to lose their temper once in a while. _" Cologne put down her staff as she gathered Shampoo into her arms, something she had not done in years. It was a strange sight to come upon, Shampoo's purple hair falling forward as she leaned closer her head resting on Cologne's lap.

_" Great-grandmother... I'm just... " _Dark splotches spread through the red silk Cologne wore. Her child was crying. _" I've loved him for so long. " _

Cologne stroked the girl's hair. _" I know, Shampoo, I know. But you must realize that Ranma Saotome is a closed book in your life. I thought you understood that. Your cousin realized this, and in time, you will too. " _

_" I do, I do. _" Shampoo's voice carried over to her ears faintly, " _Ohh, great-grandmamma, it was just that... everything has already fallen apart. Everything I had ever believed in. Rian, laws... Ranma... " _

_" Shampoo, stop being sorry for yourself, "_ Cologne said sternly, her hand slapping the side of the woman's shoulders lightly. _" You're an Amazon warrior, do not think of Ranma's choice as a defeat, but an opening of doors. You are now a free woman. " _

Shampoo shook her head at her grandmother. Sometimes people refused to understand what had already been plainly said. Her love for Ranma was something that could not be snuffed out in a moment's time. She had given her heart to him, and she had not thought that he would reject her... it had taken her seven years to get used to the idea. It would take more for her to move on.

_" Great-grandmamma -- I'm so scared, what if we're making the wrong decision, Kodachi has never been a good woman... much less a wife, "_ Shampoo almost whispered as she looked up to Cologne._ " How can we be sure? " _

_" Shampoo... " _The older woman lifted the girl's chin so that she would look her in the eye. She offered a comforting smile to her great-granddaughter. _" There are no assurances in the physical world. That's why we stumble and fall, because if we all see into the future... well... I doubt we'll ever fall in love. It's the way things are, but he's obviously in love. "_

_" He said he's never needed love. " _

_" He's only human, Shampoo, "_ Cologne answered as she tried to comfort her great-granddaughter. Ranma came too early in their lives. Shampoo had been a girl when he defeated her. He became so much a part of the girl's life that even now, when he obviously did not want her, she desperately clung to the small strands he left behind. _" He needs it just as much as you. " _

_" I know... "_ Shampoo whispered sadly. _" But did it have to be someone else? " _

There was nothing left to say. It was everything Shampoo had kept inside for the long years and Shampoo had been hurting for a while now. It had been seven years... Cologne had always thought that she had lived and let live. Apparently she had been wrong.

Shampoo was not the child she had comforted in her bed when she was young. She was already a grown woman, and the sickness of the heart was wasting her away right now. Cologne didn't know what she could do for her, except to give the comfort she sought.

* * *

Nodoka looked at the current state of Nerima, brushing a stray lock away from her face. The damages were more than enough to keep the whole town busy. As the acrid smell of smoke touched her nostrils, she nearly coughed. It wasn't a pleasant smell... a fusion of burnt wood and flesh.

The smell of burnt flesh stung her most of all. Many died the night of the fire, and she was lucky to sustain only minor burns. She sighed as she looked at the house she had formerly occupied.

There were five samurai dead, fifteen injured. The peasants had the worst of it, **their** body count was still rising. The report was fifty dead, forty injured, and more to be dug out of the fires. It had been nighttime and the fire had taken them all by surprise, even her.

They shouldn't have had such a problem since there were ample samurai guarding the gates for any suspicious-looking person to go about torching the place. The problem was, with Ranma and Nabiki trying to extract more of the men from each city, it left them weakened from such inside attacks.

It was even more suspicious, because it had happened **just** at the night of the Yuigihama meeting, when all of the best fighters of the Saotome Clan were out of their stations and reporting the findings of the past year to Happosai. Either it was a coincidence, or the torchbearer had waited for the Yuigahama meeting just to set the fire. She was inclined to believe the latter.

'Why burn Nerima in the first place? Rose Brier is far easier to access if they want to get Ranma or Nabiki. Nerima brings unnecessary risk and added detection.'

'The only reason that makes sense is that Rose Brier is near Yuigahama, any blaze would bring ten of the best Saotome warriors bearing down on them.' Nodoka frowned at the implications of that thought.

Few knew of the Yuigahama meeting, to strike at the appropriate moment meant that the person who orchestrated all of this knew the Saotomes' plans inside and out. It worried her.

Nodoka wiped the sweat from her face as the samurai rebuilt the structure of the house. 'I'm getting too old for political wars.' She rubbed the long gash in her sword arm that she incurred that morning by fighting with several of the ninja. It was beginning to itch. Her maid, noticing her discomfort, offered a small white handkerchief for her. She refused, and the maid bowed and continued to shield her with the small parasol she held in her hands.

"Are all the ninja dead?" she asked one of the nearby samurai.

He stopped to put down the dismantled shoji and looked at her. "All we could get our hands on, my lady. Still, I would advice you to be cautious tonight. Ninja are tricky enemies."

She nodded absentmindedly. She had some respect for the Silent Ones. Ninja were always something of a taboo among the samurai, but she taught her children the same respect she felt, for without respect for your enemy, you could never win. "Is there no one left to question?"

"I doubt they would say anything **when** questioned, Lady Saotome." The samurai looked thoughtful, but shook his head. "They are well trained, my lady, most of them had killed themselves before they were captured."

She thought as much. Ninja hated loose ends. That's why they were usually the assassins. She dismissed the samurai and to find out where she was needed, but there was nothing she could lend her hand to. Nerima was a well-oiled machine... even in a crisis.

"Mother!"

Nodoka turned around to smile at her son. "Ranma, you're here. Thank goodness." She turned to her maid. "Please see to getting us a room."

The maid bowed again, left her the parasol that she was holding and ran towards the less devastated part of the city. Nodoka turned to study her son again. "Son, I hope we did not interrupt you at a bad time. How was Yuigahama?"

"Well enough I suppose..." Ranma trailed off as he looked at his mother. "Happosai has accepted an alliance with the Amazons. That's to be expected, I guess. Some of the daimyo want him out of his seat, but then they don't want him knowing **that**, though I think he senses their unrest. He's setting up Edo as a gift to Tokugawa, so we'd best prepare for someone higher up ordering us around."

She always had an interest in the Saotome affairs. Having a son with a title of daimyo tended to do that. Her father also taught her the benefits of knowing what was going on around her. Nodoka was an astute woman, and she could handle herself if the circumstance presented itself. "I thought Happosai formed an alliance with Tokugawa?"

Ranma snorted in disbelief. "The old man? The way he sucks up to the regent you'd think he's the Emperor. This time next year, we'll have a liege lord **to** our liege lord. The other things are from the other Saotome lands. None of them are interested in Sagami, thank the gods. There's still trouble at the border... and Yokohama was set on fire."

A lot of bad news, but then, Yuigahama was **usually** bad news. That was the reason why Happosai had set up the sparring matches in the first place, to keep them out of the bad news. She couldn't see why Hanae was eager to go to it, it seemed extremely dull. A thought sprung to her mind, 'Protect me from my friends, I can protect myself from my enemies.' "Was there any good news?"

"Well... Nabiki sends her love..." That earned a smile from her. "And... I don't know if you take this as either good **or** bad. I'm hoping you'd think it's good."

Nodoka raised her eyebrow at her son's fidgeting. "What is it, son?"

"Well... It's about Akane..." He trailed off, watching her. Nodoka raised her hand to her mouth and shook her head, eyes wide in disbelief. "You think it's bad..."

He hadn't even said what it was, and yet Nodoka knew what her son was going to tell her. The mere **tone** that he had pronounced Kodachi's newly baptized name spoke volumes. He loved her. She only hoped that he wasn't making a mistake.

"Mother, that is... I--" He stopped unsure of himself, where to begin, whether Nodoka would accept a proclamation that he himself was unsure of.

Nodoka raised her hand to his arm. "You do not need to tell me something if you are not ready to say it. I have a feeling that you're going to tell me--" She shook her head, "I fear that this is not the time for secrets. Let us just arrange what you have to do in Nerima so you could join your sister. I think Yokohama needs you more than Nerima does."

* * *

The Tokai road was extremely busy, and extremely hot. It was one of the reasons why Nabiki took to the trees. Since there was no formal public transportation, and the only way to get from place to place if you weren't a special retainer of some liege lord was by foot, people tended to walk together. The bigger the group, the better.

That worked fine for Nabiki, except that she preferred to be with people with a faster pace, maybe someone as fast as Ranma. Even her foster father would do. So when she traveled on busy roads, Nabiki tended to take to the trees more than the paths.

Then again, it all really depended on the situation. Nabiki looked behind her. Sure that for a while now, someone was tailing her. Her tail was not using the conventional methods either. He had also taken to the trees as she had.

Jumping off the tree, she landed in the middle of the Tokai. The people's steady movement immediately hid her from view. She hoped that was enough to keep the person following her off her trail, because she certainly didn't want a fight in her hands so close to one of the seki, the military checkpoints. Although she could probably bluff her way because she was samurai, she didn't like delays.

She kept close to a group of six women who carried infants some days old. Nabiki smiled. 'They're probably going to the Shinto shrine, to name them and record the day of birth.'

One of the mothers smiled at her noticing her proximity, and showed her the oldest, which looked about four months old. "What's his name?" Nabiki asked as she looked the boy over glancing sideways towards the path she came from to try to sense if her tail was still following.

"Hideki." The young mother smiled, oblivious of Nabiki's other worries, her mind centered on her son. "He's having his first eating ceremony."

Something constricted in Nabiki's heart. The first eating ceremony was something done when a child was four months old, where a mother would sit with him holding a small rice bowl and help the baby eat with chopsticks.

The others were probably going because when a boy was thirty-two days old or a girl thirty-three days. At these ages, the child was taken to a Shinto shrine. There, a priest recorded the name and date of birth and the child formally became a member of the community.

She missed out on Sei's. His foster mother was the one who took him. "You must be terribly excited."

The woman nodded. "Oh, yes. I am. Pardon me, but are you traveling alone? You could come with us if, you like." It was not unusual to be offered companionship because women, generally, didn't travel unaccompanied.

Nabiki opened her mouth to decline, when she felt a dagger point across her back. "There you are, my dear, I was looking for you. You're terribly hard to catch," the soft words were spoken loud enough for the woman in front of Nabiki to hear, but soft enough for Nabiki to understand its true meaning. This man was the one following her earlier.

"That was the point," Nabiki fumed. By the grip the man was holding her, she was sure she couldn't get the knife before anyone got hurt. She would have to play it out for a while.

"Ahh, I wouldn't think that a lovely lady like you would travel alone. Pardon me, if I have insulted you." The woman traveler bowed once to Nabiki, then once again to whoever was sticking the dagger at her back. She then gave a small wave, going back to the group she had been with.

"No trouble at all," muttered Nabiki as she watched the woman get away. She would have insisted to stay with her if not for the child she had carried. But then, Nabiki could take care of herself. "Do you mind?"

"Let's step over behind the food vendors, and we'll talk," he whispered to her. "I promise I won't do anything untoward to you."

Nabiki gave out a very unladylike snort, but complied. Just as soon as they were behind the stall with no one looking, she whipped around, pushed him off her back, disentangled her backpack and threw it at the ground so that its weight would not be an added burden to her if she needed to fight. "What is it you want?"

"Ifuku's description holds you no justice, Lady Nabiki," the man observed and smiled as he slowly laid his dagger on the ground. "You are more than 'slightly skilled'."

"You know Ifuku?" Nabiki demanded uncertainly as she adopted a more casual stance, although her guard was not lowered. "Who are you?"

"I'm Ifuku's husband."

Nabiki blinked at him. She had been tracked and called 'more than slightly skilled' by a peasant! She'd die if Ranma heard about it. 'I lost to a peasant? It didn't have to be an assassin, maybe samurai. But a peasant!' From the worn out blue cloth he wore, she could also tell he was a particularly poor peasant. 'I would have felt better if I had lost to pops!' Her pride stung making her completely forget that she hadn't asked for his name. "That's impossible! Ifuku has worn no marital comb, has had no ceremony that I have heard of."

"You don't expect us peasants to take you away from your duties, just because we were **married**, do you?" he mocked. "Besides, she doesn't wear her comb because Lady Kodachi refuses to wear hers, and Ifuku claims it won't be polite for her to try to do something that her mistress has refused to do."

"Of COURSE you should have told me! Ifuku's my vassal. If I don't know what's happening inside my house, then I'm not going to be able to handle what goes outside of it," Nabiki raged, frustrated at his answers. Still, he knew Kodachi, he knew Ifuku. It must signify he knew enough of them to be Ifuku's husband... or a spy.

"I'm sorry if I have in any way offended my lady. In the future, any marriages performed will have my lady's permission," he granted, his sarcasm rankled on her nerves. "But if you really doubt me..."

He took something out of the folds of his kimono. Nabiki tensed up, but only found that he was showing her a plain lacquered comb. "This is my marital comb. I gave this to Ifuku when we were married and she has asked me to keep it until her mistress wears hers."

She still had her suspicions... Nabiki sighed, the comb really proved nothing than that the man had a few coins to buy himself a nice trinket, or that he was a skilled wood carver, but she didn't voice all this. "Why are you following me?"

He smiled charmingly at her, which deepened her frown even more. If he thought he was going to charm her through this entire ordeal, he was going to find out that Nabiki was made of ice. Finally, he said, "Ifuku sent me to tell you about the Tendos."

"Let us not talk about them in the open." Genma taught them that conversations about anything important should never be held in public. And the Tendos seemed important enough for secrecy. The Tendos.

Nabiki stared at him for a long time, questions plaguing her mind. What could a maid have to do with a clan so far down south, so small that virtually nobody was interested in their territory and so inactive that no one knew them?

She was intrigued nonetheless. Especially at the apparent skill that Ifuku's husband was showing her. She knew she should have just sent him to Rose Brier rather than let him accompany her, but she found herself saying, "I don't have any other choice but to trust you. So we'll have to keep strict rules."

The man nodded. The man seemed more amused than compliant, and that irritated Nabiki to no end. "So we shall, my lady."

"Don't do anything stupid, and we'll get along just fine," Nabiki said as she dipped her foot towards the knife the man had left on the ground throwing it up in the air with her foot and catching it in her hand.

She examined it closely then dropped between her breasts. It had been small enough to fit within the bindings she had placed there. When she looked up, the man was looking everywhere but **at** her. Nabiki raised her eyebrows at his prudishness. Most men in their age would not turn away.

Still looking away, the man asked, "What constitutes as stupid, then?"

"Oh, that's simple," Nabiki assured him as she slung her backpack again. She turned back to him to give the sweetest smile she could muster. "Anything **I** don't like."

* * *

Kodachi watched from the shadows of the house that had once been hers and smirked. Running her hands against the wall of stone near the beach, Kodachi smiled as it reached the small lever, finally finding what she was looking for. She pushed the rock-like switch and it revealed a small cleverly concealed doorway in place of the wall she had been looking at which opened into a spacious room.

She lit up the small lamp she was holding and closed the wall behind her. Faintly, she could hear the grinding of the stone door as it shut and smiled as she saw her lab. It was something she had taken pride in, her lab.

She looked at the fine amount of dust that had accumulated in the half year she was absent. She ran her hands against her worktable. A small brazier in the middle, some glass containers, and a good number of ingredients were still left.

"Sorry, loves, I'm here for only a short while," Kodachi murmured passing her hands against the small bottles, taking a few, blowing the dust off the liquid filled containers then hiding them in her kimono's sleeves. Her hands trembled at the rows of potions that had lain dormant for the past months, eager for her use again. "I'll be back soon, my loves. Soon."

Nothing had changed much in her work area, so it meant that someone had yet to find it. That was lucky. At least no one had been tampering with her things while she had been out playing dead. There were still some things that Akane Hibiki had to learn about this place.

When her father had acquired Rose Brier for her, she had been given a huge allowance to 'redecorate' it. Her parents had been eager to please and too loose with their money. She managed to pull strings to have it built, and she had made magic with it ever since. Other than changing the décor of her room, and adding her secret lab, she stashed the money away for further use. Now was as good a time as any to use it.

She went up to a bookcase and pushed it away, revealing a long staircase that led up towards the halls of Rose Brier. She unlatched it and peeked over the wooden floor, pushing the shoji away. There was no one around.

She remembered the fool Gosunkugi's plea for her to stay by his side tonight, but she couldn't... not when her plans were at their critical stages. Ranma and Nabiki weren't home tonight, from her observations of the house earlier Cologne and Shampoo were distracted teaching the children, and no one would sense her discreet entrance.

'But why go to the house? You have nothing to get there. You have all you ever wanted here.' Gosunkugi protested when he learned where she was going. 'You can execute your plans here.'

She had laughed in his face and left without a word of explanation. Gosunkugi was at best a pawn that she could either break or use. She did not need to explain things to him.

How could a simpleton like him understand that what she was doing was an important part of her plan as any of the schemes she had ordered to bring the Saotome House to chaos? No. A simpleton could not understand the grand plans she had.

Pulling herself up from the hole, she sealed the place quickly, covering the hollow floor with the tatami once more. Straightening herself, she dusted her kimono and tried to get her bearings, frowning a bit. The arrangement of the house had changed. It only meant that they perceived some amount of danger. It was good for her plan but terribly disconcerting for her.

Kodachi set out to find her room, and smiled at her luck, she found it in a matter of seconds. She recognized her room, not by the way it looked but by the materials that were set around it. The maids prepared the room for a young woman's rest. Since Shampoo and Cologne were staying in one room, it was logical to conclude that the room that held a single tatami with a woman's night kimono was Akane's.

Hanging the lamp in one of the pegs, her eyes strained at the sight as she fumed silently. The woman had changed her wonderful shoji and beautiful furniture to the drab pastel colors. She had changed it into sunny themes that conveyed happiness that thoroughly revolted Kodachi.

She shuddered lightly then turned towards the alcove where her clothes were kept. As she shifted through the clothes she sighed again, all of them had the drab colors of yellow, blue and purple. She neatly placed them in the tatami, the key to all cloak and dagger games was not being found out. Leaving the room in a mess was a gong waiting to be struck.

She pushed her hand back into alcove and found what she was looking for: a small scroll, a bag of coins and her marital comb. It was still as good as the day Ranma had presented it to her.

Carved from something similar to ivory, the workmanship was exquisite. The arch was made into a dragon entwined in a rose and the eyes studded with two small blue gems that sparkled when the moon touched it. It was simple and elegant, yet no one had ever seen her wear it. Only Ranma, Ifuku some of the upper liege lords and possibly Nabiki knew what it was. Now she needed it as proof of her identity.

Her benefactor would probably kill her if she went up to him in this body. Without him, she would not get the resources to keep all of those bushi foot soldiers, and warriors not born Samurai, sohei or temple warriors, and the occasional Kensai the wandering weapon masters, paid to attack the borders. How could her plans to pry Ranma's fingers on his fief work if she had no manpower?

She set the comb into her hair, just above the small band that tied her ponytail together and kept the scroll and the bag inside the sleeves of her kimono. It was good Ifuku still moved the items with her dresses. It took less time to find it.

Standing up, she returned the things carefully. It wouldn't do for them to find something amiss this early. Still, no one would sense her presence in the house. And they wouldn't really **know** who she was, now would they?

Turning to leave through the window, she passed by her full length mirror before she leapt out into the night, it had managed to catch a ray of the moon's light and had caught her eye. She stopped to look at it again. It was probably the only fixture that had not been changed in the room. She touched the smooth glass and looked at her face for the first time.

Mirrors were an expensive thing of luxury, the more you had, the more wealthy you were. They also tended to be smaller, which is why Kodachi had sought out this particular piece. It was also the reason Kodachi had never seen the face she now possessed.

Kodachi trailed her finger across the short bluish black hair, the small nose and the large brown eyes. The face was softer, subtler than what she was used to. The eyes were bigger, more expressive, the hair straight and had the slightest tinge of blue when the light hit it. A beautiful face all in all, but looked far less than her own.

Then she frowned, angry at what stared back at her. She wanted to punch the face that stared back but knew that it would be an unwise decision as it might bring the household's attention to her. She was still an outsider in that home, and she would be persecuted the moment she got caught intruding.

A small gleam of wickedness flashed through her eyes as she whipped a black rose from her sleeves, the black rose she had picked from the arches of Rose Brier. She had terribly missed her roses. She drew her hand back and threw the rose at the mirror deeply imbedding itself on the frame.

There was a small cracking sound, but the mirror didn't fall apart. Not a single piece fell from its frame. Her rose struck clear in the middle of the web of glass she had made.

'You'll be sorry you have chosen me for an enemy Akane Hibiki. I **will** see to your death,' And as the multiplied images of the peasant she now possessed stared back at her, this time, she couldn't suppress the urge to laugh.

-

Ifuku's head shot up as she heard it, the unmistakable sound of Kodachi's laughter through the air. She gave a shudder, then pushed the tray she had been about to deliver to her mistress to Sara's hands, then wiped her own against a clean towel. A determined look set across her face as she went to see to her mistress. Lady Kodachi was back.

"Ifuku, no..." Sara whispered wide-eyed, while holding the tray and insistently pulling on Ifuku's sleeve. "Don't do this."

"We have all prepared for the moment of Lady Kodachi's arrival, and I'm going to do her service. Just as is my duty, Sara." Ifuku gave the young girl a reassuring smile. She talked as if Lady Kodachi had been on a vacation. "Please, let me go or we might all be in trouble."

Sara nodded as she released Ifuku's sleeve. Ifuku wasted no time in running towards Kodachi's current quarters. She found Kodachi standing and staring at the cracked mirror. The rose that protruded from the said device, left no doubt as to who could have done it.

"Do you need me, my lady?" Ifuku asked in a light voice.

Akane turned around slowly, fear laden in her eyes. "Oh... Ifuku, No. Thank you, but it frightened me." She motioned towards the mirror and smiled trying to cover up most of that fear.

"It's all right, my lady. You need not be scared of who you are," Ifuku reassured her in the most comforting voice she could muster. "Your memory is just resurfacing."

"My memory?" Akane asked bewildered. She looked at the rose then at Ifuku. "You mean Kodachi? Kodachi is back? But... how?"

"If memory serves me correct, child, you **are** Kodachi." Ifuku turned to see the Elder Cologne enter the house, the two children and Shampoo closely behind her.

"But-- but!" Akane protested as she pointed to the mirror. "I didn't **do** that, you have **got** to believe me. I can't even handle a dart, much less a projectile that **big**. Not with that much accuracy anyway. I couldn't have struck the mirror to crack it, it's impossible."

Cologne raised an eyebrow. It was difficult to believe an impossibility that has been proved otherwise. Especially since the proof was right before their eyes. "Hand me the rose, child."

There was a moment's hesitation before Akane reached out for the rose and extracted it from the mirror. Its withdrawal upset the precious balance that the glass had created temporarily when the rose had been imbedded on it. The shards all fell to the floor breaking into smaller pieces. Ifuku winced at the mess, wishing that Kodachi had not been insistent on buying the Portuguese glass mirror and choosing a normal silvered bronze one instead, as Akane handed the flower over to Cologne.

Cologne studied the rose for a moment. "This is -- has always been your favored means of attack, Kodachi. As I recall, you are rather skilled at it." Cologne threw the rose up, just as she would a dagger, balancing it in her fingertip and doing so again. None of the petals fell off as Cologne tested its balance against her fingers. Akane watched with mild curiosity.

"It was before my amnesia. I assure you. I've forgotten."

"You have forgotten a lot it seems." Finally Cologne snapped it up into the air and flicked it towards Akane's direction. Akane caught it with her right hand just as it went past her ear, her cheek grazed by a thorn.

"An excellent catch, Lady Akane." Cologne bowed then turned towards the children, as if nothing had happened. "Go to bed children, the night is done. I'm sure Akane needs her rest."

They scampered away. Ifuku took note of it and wondered at Cologne's actions, then turned back to her mistress, not knowing whether to address her as the Akane she respected or Kodachi whom she feared.

* * *

Nabiki hated inns. They made her squeamish, they were impersonal, and the next person who checked in could be her next assassin. But then, she had already said she'd rather face an assassin than her current companion.

It was also because of her current companion that she chose an inn to sleep in. She would rather sleep in the ground with the stars as her roof, with an obnoxiously loud panda and her twin in the cold night.

It was irrational compared to the comforts offered at a local inn, but no one ever said Nabiki was a purely rational being. Besides, the benefits outweighed the detriments. She needed a neutral ground that would separate her from Ifuku's husband. The inn seemed to be a good enough place to stay.

She could've just kicked a stupid vassal out of his house, but she was too tired to talk to the incompetent baka that was their vassal in this town. Even the waki-honjin, the official lodgings, were unusable to her because some other noble had gotten to it first, and since waki-honjin were designed only to accommodate one party, she found no other choice. Even if she could get to a waki-honjin or a honjin, she'd be explaining half of the time because travelers usually sent word and reserve accommodations in advance. Besides, it hardly would've been 'neutral ground'.

A cheaper kichin-yado would suffice, but it was more dangerous there, even if she could save coin, since people could share rooms. And there was the matter of the meals. They had to cook it on their own if they had stayed in a cheap hotel, and Nabiki simply had no energy to cook tonight nor did she trust Ifuku's husband to cook for her.

So here she was in a hatago, paying more money than she would like.

At least the mistress of the inn didn't have chance to put up her name over the door, she was in enough trouble as it was without letting half of the world know she was in the area.

-

The landlord was a little irked by the late arrival but promptly called all of the servants with the landlady. They rubbed their knees and hissed their welcome and respect through their teeth.

The landlady's head touched the small tatami while telling Nabiki in a reassuring manner of one who doesn't want to lose a customer that she would lodge Nabiki in one of the larger rooms. Two of the maids liberated them of their shoes while two others led the way to their rooms.

Nabiki dropped her belongings on the tatami and sat down on the open space, although the wooden boards were already up blocking the outsiders' view of what was happening inside the house. The maids brought in the hibachi, which did not promise much warmth for the night, followed by other maids who were bowing while delivering the trays of food.

She thanked the maid for bringing the trays out. The maid was still groggy from her roused sleep but she put on a mask of pleased deference. The maids brought in a small dining table before Nabiki decided that she liked her privacy for the night more than a few serving girls pouring sake every ten minutes.

"Thank you but I'll serve the sake," Nabiki said curtly, trying to add a pleasant tone to her voice but failing completely. "I'll summon you when we are ready to retire."

The maids bowed in respect and were promptly gone.

She sighed as she placed her hands on her hips. She could use a good bath, a good soak in the furo, but then she didn't want to trouble their host more than what was necessary.

Damn the man for making her late. She raised her eyebrows as the maid shut the shoji leaving them to their dinner. "This is hardly fair."

"And why is that Lady Nabiki?" Ifuku's husband asked taking his seat before one of the trays that were set on the table.

"You seem to know everything about me, and I know nothing about you," Nabiki complained sitting across him. "Who are you? What is your connection to Ifuku--"

"Wait, one question at a time!" He made a warding gesture that was not lost on her. "I'm Sohin." Small gift. His parents must have waited very long for a child. Or he sold small gifts. "I told you before that Ifuku sent for me because she said you wanted to find out about the Tendos."

"And why would she send for you?" Nabiki asked suspiciously as she took the chopsticks from the pockets of her Chinese drawstring pants while watching him take out his own.

"Because I know the Tendos." He shrugged looking at her. "Ifuku almost got into trouble because she sent word for me. She was almost killed by a samurai named Omokage, just so that I would be here to tell you what I know."

"And what do you know, Sohin-san?" Nabiki asked, curious as to what someone like him could know of a samurai. Samurai were exceedingly careful in their talks around men.

"What do you want to know?" he asked, taking a piece of everything that was set before them, not waiting for Nabiki to eat.

Nabiki snorted at his disrespect but let it go, she was too focused on her questioning for that to matter. "The heir. Who is the heir of the Tendos?"

There was a pained expression in his eyes that was gone in an instant. Nabiki almost thought she imagined it. "The Tendo patriarch had only three children. All were from different consorts, none from his legal wife. The eldest was a boy that would be thirty about now. The middle child and the youngest were both born within one month of each other. If I am not mistaken they would be around twenty-five years old, they were both girls."

"Were?" Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "You speak as if they're dead."

"We don't really know that... but they most probably are." Sohin answered, he stopped eating for a moment then looked at Nabiki. "They were banished when their father died, and that was twenty years ago. The Tendo matriarch, Chisei(1) wanted them dead because her husband had pronounced that they would be his heirs."

"But the three children are still alive?" Nabiki demanded, her dinner long forgotten.

There was a long pause before Sohin put his bowl of rice down to answer her, "I don't know."

"Lady Tendo banished them because they were the children of consorts? She sounds extremely jealous." Nabiki rubbed her forehead with her fingertips as she processed the information. "Did she order them killed?"

"Yes," he answered, pushing the bowl out of his way and drinking some of the tea that the maids had served.

Chisei seemed to be an extremely imbalanced woman. Nabiki leaned closer as Sohin said something else. "But they escaped before they were caught."

"Ever hear of Snow White?" It was a Portuguese tale that had been brought to her by one of the priests. She waved her hand at his blank stare, although his telling of the Tendo heirs' plight sounded similar to the fairytale. "It doesn't matter. Your answer doesn't answer my question. Who's the heir now? More appropriately, who holds the title now?"

"A seven year old boy." Sohin looked up to see Nabiki's expression clearly.

"They were ordered killed before there was replacement?" At seven years old, the boy would not have been born before the Tendo children were banished. Nabiki was surprised at such an order. With no heirs therefore no rulers, how could a house stand on its own? No wonder the Tendo House has a low profile. "I guess Lady Chisei holds the Clan's strings for now. Who was their daimyo before the boy was born?"

"Lord Tendo's brother. He was ill from a lung disease. He died five years ago. It's his son that holds the Clan now, and Lady Chisei acts as 'regent' until he comes of age."

Nabiki's head started to hurt, if that boy didn't get ample protection, he was going to end up dead as well... or being controlled by Chisei. It didn't make any sense. All it told her was that Kodachi stole the title of a seven year old boy. 'Could be that she and this Chisei person has formed an alliance? It's highly unlikely due to Chisei's jealous nature. She would want to rule for herself, get up by herself... unless she double crosses her supposed partner.' Then again, Kodachi had an extremely jealous nature as well. "The Children who escaped, what are their names?"

"Eruchii, Shori," Earned Place and Victory. Did the names mean anything? Should they mean anything at all? She looked expectantly at Sohin for the final name, he had closed his eyes in a moment of thought, when he opened them again he had her answer, "and Akane."

Akane Tendo. Something bothered her about the name, as if there was something she should know about it, but escaped her grasp, but somehow, it seemed perfect. It glided over her mind's eye easily. "Akane Tendo."

Her eyes snapped open. Why had Kodachi chosen this name out of all the names that she could have made up? Why choose an identity of a real person, when it would have made her life more difficult? "Where is Akane Tendo?"

"I -- I don't know," Sohin stammered, surprised at her sudden demand.

"Why do you know this Sohin?" Nabiki asked suspiciously, her eyes watching his every move. "And why come when Ifuku summoned you. What are you to the Tendos?"

"I know things because I do, Lady Nabiki," Sohin hedged. "You would not reveal your sources, and neither shall I."

"I was not the one who **volunteered** information. You'll be accompanying me until I go home and Ifuku confirms that you are who you say you are." Nabiki stood up abruptly, understanding why he refused her and hating his principles for it. "Goodnight, Sohin-san."

He inclined his head but continued eating.

She slipped the unused chopsticks into its case and clapped three times. Two maids appeared and instructed them to split the room into two, although it could have easily been five. She could've gone for a smaller one, but decided that it was too late and she was too tired to be talking to their hosts.

When the maids finally finished preparing their beds and the rooms Nabiki entered the other side of the room effectively separating her from Sohin. Nabiki took her backpack and rooted for the night kimono her maid had packed for her. Nabiki smiled at the unnecessary thoughtfulness. Inns lent out free summer robes for the guests to use while they stayed, and if worse came to worst, she could always drop cold water and sleep naked. But it was a nice thought.

She lay on the futon the maid prepared for her, from the other side of the room she could hear Sohin retiring too. Even though she had announced her intent to sleep, sleep was long in coming.

She lay awake, thinking of Kodachi. Kodachi took the name Akane, she also took the name Tendo... and there exists one Akane Tendo. Is that coincidence? Could she have kidnapped the three children so she could take a new name? Or perhaps she had an agreement with the children, protecting them if they gave her service.

But what would three samurai children know? They had been far too young when they were left. Five and Ten. That would mean Eruchii had taken both of them on his shoulders to survive.

She closed her eyes for some well earned sleep. They'll just have to continue this tomorrow.

-

Sohin roused again after hours of trying to sleep then went towards the balcony, a letter for Ifuku in his hands. He did not know how she would receive it, and there were exactly no pigeons in the area to give it to her, but he had written it anyway. He did not know what they had started when they did this, but it seemed like they were in deeper trouble now than before.

'Why did she single out Akane's name?' he wondered. Ifuku's letter had arrived barely in time, and in the few hastily written words she said that he must go to Nabiki Saotome. The samurai that delivered it explained the rest, but not the reasons why the Saotomes were intent on learning about the Tendos now.

He carried nothing when he went to seek out Nabiki, nothing but the clothes on his back and a few koban, strung just enough to fit his wrist(2). Ifuku's request took him by surprise, and the urgency of the note had startled him.

For the Saotomes to seek out the Tendos... well, it might prove bad for both of them... the last time a major house had sought the Tendos, it managed to get Lady Chisei time to track the three heirs down. He hoped that this time, he was close enough to prevent any such disaster.

His head snapped up as he heard the soft moan of anguish coming from Nabiki's room. Thinking that she had been attacked, he opened the shoji divider that separated them to find her thrashing in her futon. A bad dream. According to what Ifuku told him every year, Nabiki did tend to have bad dreams ever since she had returned from her husband.

He didn't know what else to do but try to stir her from the nightmare that had taken her thoughts for the night. He touched her shoulder lightly, and she woke up almost immediately. For such a light sleeper, Nabiki did not wake from her dreams as easily as she had from an outside touch.

"Ranma, It's that dream again. Damn it." Her kimono was soaked through with sweat but it had not transformed her. She also seemed to have forgotten where she was. "I thought I have gotten over that."

"Maybe it's trying to tell you something," Sohin suggested.

Nabiki's head snapped towards his direction, then suddenly, as if realizing for the first time who he was, sat straight from her futon. "Sohin-san, dreams about your own sword sticking through your brother-in-law's back is hardly informative." She pulled the evening kimono that had slightly exposed her shoulder closer.

"Well then, it must have been a traumatic event."

Nabiki's eyes narrowed down to slits. "You think?" She pulled a small hair that seemed to hold all her hair together, then carefully set it beside her, raking her hands through her waist-length hair. "Thank you for your concern, Sohin-san, but I would rather sleep now."

"Are you sure? Should I get you--"

"Thank you Sohin-**san**," she answered her voice a little strained. "I am merely tired, which is probably the reason my dreams trouble me. Please leave me. I wish to be alone."

"But--"

Nabiki's eyes flashed in anger and irritation. She did not deal with insubordination well. "Is there something in what I said that you did not understand?"

"I understand, Lady Nabiki," Sohin said as he turned to go murmuring, "You're just too afraid to tell anyone what you feel."

"I would prefer if you keep your comments to yourself, Sohin. You know nothing about what you are talking of and less about me." Nabiki got up and took her backpack, a small flask of water peeking out. "You cannot second guess someone you barely know."

"You're just upset someone is better at reading your character than yourself," Sohin shot back at her.

In an instant she was beside him, her hand against his throat, the backpack forgotten on the tatami, its contents spilling out. "If you really want us to continue to Yokohama with you in one piece, I suggest that you do as I order. I don't care if you're Ifuku's husband, but you will learn how to respect me. Understand?"

"Perfectly," his answer came out as a whisper, Nabiki's hand hampering the wind from escaping his throat. She released him. For someone who was roused from a nightmare, Nabiki knew how to immediately get to her wits. He turned his back to return to his side of the divided.

After a few minutes, he could hear Nabiki's soft weeping, muffled by what he thought was her blanket.

* * *

Kodachi's breath came in small gasps as she leaned against the shoji of Ifuku's room. She had not been able to escape outside because Akane came almost immediately. Had she gone outside for safety, Akane would have probably spotted her. Maybe even Cologne. The old hag had a remarkable reaction time. She was there in seconds, considering the location of the dojo and the second floor of the house.

She placed the scroll away, her ear shamelessly pressed against the shoji, waiting for them to take their leave. She sighed when she heard Cologne leave as well. She was the only potentially dangerous person there.

She turned to exit when a tap on her shoulder stopped her. She turned around slowly to find no one. "Down here." She almost groaned then, looked down at Cologne. 'There goes a good plan.'

"Tell me young lady... what exactly are you doing in Ifuku's quarters?" Cologne asked. It really was suspicious when a commotion had just happened on the other side of the room.

"I'm cleaning, elder," the younger woman answered.

"In the dead of the night?" Cologne asked.

"Lady Nabiki," it took pains to say the words for she had never shown any kind of respect for the woman, "would be disappointed if I left what I was supposed to do today for tomorrow, yes?"

"It's a nice ornament you have there."

Kodachi's hands flew to the comb, the only thing on her person that was close to an ornament. "It is, elder. It's a gift."

"Ahh, you've chosen a nice young man for one to give you such a wonderful betrothal gift," Cologne commented. Kodachi didn't know if the questions were leading to somewhere, only that she mustn't anger the old woman. "May I see it?"

Kodachi took a step back. "It's personal, elder. I don't really want to jinx my marriage by showing off my comb when the vows have not been said."

"Superstitious," Cologne chuckled, but made no move towards Kodachi. The old woman shifted her staff. "I haven't seen you here before, have I?"

"No, elder," another lie. Kodachi frowned imperceptibly. The more she told the greater her chances of getting caught. "I work the night shift."

"There's a night shift with the servants?" Cologne cackled, amused at her answer. "I didn't know the koku intake of the Saotomes were high enough to let their servants have **shifts**."

Kodachi bowed. "Could I take my leave, elder? I need to work now, and I am sure they are already looking for me."

Cologne watched her try to leave with steely eyes. "Girl, what is your name?"

Kodachi's eyes almost crossed, she was not the most inventive of persons when it came to names. She called her alligator Mr. Turtle if that was any proof of her creativity. "Murasaki."

"Murasaki?" Cologne repeated slowly as if turning the name over in her head. "I thought servants had the names of their jobs? Of course I may just be an old Chinese woman who can't remember anything straight."

There was little chance that Cologne could get her facts wrong once she remembered them, and this one was dead in its accuracy. Kodachi almost cursed having forgotten such a simple thing. "Yes, which is the reason why my mother was beheaded." Now she hoped the woman would stop asking questions and leave her to her escape.

"You know that comb you wear reminds me of something, Murasaki." Cologne nodded towards the object in question, as she rubbed her thumb against the top of her cane.

"It's a common bought comb, elder," Kodachi answered in the most subversive tone she could use. Knowing that when Cologne focused her attention on something, she would not let it go. "It serves no end."

"Ah, but my child, it's not as common as you think." In one quick motion, Cologne plucked out the comb from her hair. Kodachi could only whirl around to where Cologne landed and face her squarely. "This is my student's gift to Kodachi when they were betrothed. Nabiki has one of similar design. Both were carved at the same time, some seven years ago by one of Ranma's vassals as a gift for their lord's marriage."

She didn't need to know the story, she had been told of it when it was presented to her. She could almost laugh at the irony. She had never been caught at anything, and here she was, caught **stealing** what already belonged to her. "You are a suspicious one, Murasaki,"

"Am I?" Kodachi asked running a hand through her ponytail.

"You do not look like a common thief and you have stolen nothing else of importance." Cologne looked at her up and down. "Go back to your duties."

"Thank you, elder," Kodachi answered as she towards the inner rooms, feeling Cologne's eyes on her back, cursing that she had worn the comb instead of keeping it in her sleeves.

-

Cologne didn't stop and watch the girl as she left though the doors, jumped out of the window to find Shampoo, who had been by the dojo with her. Becuase they were persuing a girl in secret, Cologne spoke to her great-granddaughter in Mandarin, _" Shampoo, there is a girl about this high, not hard on the eyes, wearing peasant's garb. She is probably exiting the vicinity as we speak. I placed something in her hair that would glow to you who are of my blood. Be quick or you would lose her soon. " _

_" What do you want me to do with her, great-grandmamma? " _

_" Spy on her. "_ Cologne frowned, it would be good training experience for the girl and Murasaki did not seem to be too much of a threat for Cologne herself to follow her. _" I have a bad feeling about her... Report to me alone in Chinese. And even that Coded. Go. " _

Shampoo nodded as she jumped to a high tree just in time to spot the woman leaving Rose Brier. Shampoo then jumped to another tree as discreetly as possible while trying to keep her prey in sight. Cologne watched her great-granddaughter go. There was something about the Murasaki woman she could not pinpoint. Something was amiss.

Her withered hand grasped the old staff she held. 'What could be going on in the Saotome house?' She smiled. 'Well at least extracting the secrets from a hidden weapons specialist has become of some use.' Cologne thought, while fingering the now empty bottle she had used on Murasaki moments ago.

* * *

It had been an entire day's run that led them out of the city's seki. It would probably be another five hours or so before they reached the next juku, a small lodging town. Since it was already too dark to continue, Nabiki decided it would be best to stop and rest at the road.

Usually travelers get to the next juku before the day ends, so that they could get a room and some food, but since Nabiki and Sohin were heading to Yokohama, a small city, the juku's were farther apart and smaller than what they would have gotten rather than if they had been traveling towards Edo.

Taking out a water flask, Nabiki was dismayed to find it empty. Tipping the flask to the ground she glared at Sohin. "If you drank less of our water, we'd have more right now. What the hell were you thinking when you went to find me without **provisions**?"

"Speed," Sohin muttered then turned towards a nearby well, which he had spotted down the road. "Don't worry, my lady, we can have more water."

Nabiki glared at him then followed towards the well he pointed out. She threw the flask at him, which he surprisingly caught. That only added to Nabiki's irritation as she watched him pull up water and then drink. She tapped her foot impatiently. "Go ahead, dry up the damned well."

Sohin flashed his cocky smile at Nabiki. "There's more than enough water for both of us, my lady."

Nabiki frowned. Sohin's gaze challenged her as he rolled back the sleeves from his muscled forearms and proceeded to draw water from the well. 'The man has too much arrogance for a peasant,' Nabiki mused.

Rummaging around her pack, she found some of the rice she had bought from the rice merchant residing next to the inn that they had stayed at. She had packed it neatly into two bento boxes she bought before they left the town. At least it was more than the dried fruit and fish she'd been eating before. It was a refreshing change. Still, that kind of food would only last a day, and she only bought enough provisions until that evening.

Dropping her bag on the grass, she moved towards Sohin, who was finishing up with the water. "Dinner," Nabiki declared tartly, handing the black bento over to him.

He hesitated before accepting and then turned sat down cross-legged, motioning for her to do so as well. Nabiki fumed at his egotism, he smiled at her annoyance. She moved towards her pack before she sat down, well away from him.

He shrugged then opened the small bento box, then proceeded to eat with the chopsticks that were wedged between the rice and the vegetables. "I never knew that the rice merchants sold a complete set meal."

Nabiki snorted. "They don't." He raised an eyebrow in question and Nabiki answered, "I arranged the provisions. It was something to do when I was young and when we approached an inn. Oyaji stressed the need to be prepared to be a good wife."

"You'd probably make a good one then," Sohin commented as he paused to look at her. The preparation of the dinners had been extremely sophisticated for a mere dinner outing and the presentation had been too attractive for someone who she attempted to kill once every hour. "But... you're too insubordinate for a wife."

"And you're too insubordinate for a peasant." She opened her bento box to eat. Then to pass time, she started to ask the questions that she had formulated while they were traveling. "I thought you guarded a small boy. Where did you leave him for protection?"

"You're terribly inquisitive, Lady Saotome," Sohin observed as he took ate up another piece of rice. "What does the boy mean to you? Why ask of things that you don't really need."

"You're just being evasive," Nabiki accused, and then impolitely pointed her chopsticks at him. "You don't know what I'll need in the future. Answer the question."

"I don't know what you'll do in the future, so I better not." The challenge in his voice was blatant. "What makes you look for the Tendos, Lady Saotome? Don't tell me you wish to gain more lands through the heirs."

Giving out a short laugh, Nabiki waved her free hand at the land. "Don't you see all of this Sohin? Why would I want more land when Sagami is already enough trouble as it is? I'm not ambitious enough to go for Tendo land. Besides, it's too far, too ill-prepared, too ill-managed to be of use to me."

"Not interested, huh?" he asked as she ranted off the flaws.

"I merely do my research," Nabiki shot back then turned back to her bento. "Lady Chisei is not a fit ruler for that small land. She mishandles the koku, squanders the koban... and the people don't even like her. She keeps the people through fear, a string too fragile to hold for too long."

"Tell me, Lady Saotome, how do you suppose she got her samurai?" Sohin asked, and Nabiki could see the interest in his eyes.

"From what I heard, she promised majority of the samurai a good part of the land. Those who were faithful to the original Tendo patriarch's wishes were banished or killed." Nabiki placed her bento down and shook her head. "Since most of the samurai that were bought were no good scoundrels, the people under her suffered a lot. It's a wrong judgment and then the next for her. Most of the resources of the Tendos go to finding the heirs that they lose track of the real reason for being liege lord... protecting the people themselves."

Sohin nodded, and Nabiki was glad that most of her presumptions were accurate. At least it meant she read Chisei's character rather well. Closing the bento box, Sohin stood up and handed her the flask of water. "If you were Chisei, what would you do if you found the Tendo heirs?"

Accepting the flask, Nabiki shrugged. "That depends if I want to keep the land or not. In either ways I'll grant the heirs asylum, provide an alliance, test their capability and hand them the land. Provided I become their liege."

"Why?"

"They've been hiding most of their lives," Nabiki reasoned running a hand through her hair and then looking up at him. "They probably lived worse than peasants seeing that nobody would take three children off the street. This way, I'll win the people's favor, I get the lands, and the people who have power to usurp me stays under me."

"What if they refuse?" He tidied up the place with her, but with her initial anger at his help, he stopped and then watched her.

"That's fairly simple." Nabiki took the bento boxes and cleaned it depositing the two in her bag. "I'll kill them. Although I doubt whether they will refuse, this is a chance to free people from their suffering. Suffering that only they can take away. But I'm not Chisei, am I?"

"And what would you do, Lady Saotome?"

"That depends on what I find out from you," Nabiki answered sharply. She turned around so suddenly, that she startled Sohin who had been watching her idly from a few steps away. "You have gotten enough answers from me. I want to know to whom and where you left your charge."

"How did you know I was taking care of a boy?" The way he asked a question for one of her own hindered her from finding out more about him. Nabiki resisted the urge to give him a pounding.

"The juku had a pigeon from a samurai in the house, sending word for your arrival. He said that you were in charge of a small boy," Nabiki explained reluctantly. Although that confirms his presence, it still didn't say if he really was who he claimed to be. Someone might have killed the real Sohin down the road to give her an assassin instead. It would explain some of his skill. "Will you stop asking questions and answer mine?"

"Will you stop being impatient and listen?" he asked wearily. Nabiki glared at him when he finally answered, "He's with the monks at one of the temples I usually visit with him. He'll be safe there. He's my cousin."

"That wasn't too hard, was it?" Nabiki asked sweetly as she moved around one of the trees lining the road while taking her pack with her. Since she thought she wouldn't be getting any more answers from him she said. "I'm sleeping. Good night, Sohin-san. Keep to your side of the road."

He stared at her before he made himself comfortable. "Women," he muttered.

It was the last thing Nabiki heard from him before she fell asleep.

* * *

Nabiki walked past the seki signaling their entrance in the inner Yokohama, she winced at the sight. Three days after the fire and it still looked like a charcoal field.

Outer Yokohama was a plain bordered by two rivers, which was the reason why the fire had not spread down there. The fire did take its toll on the inner city though. A young woman walked past her, a baby strapped to her back, a small tray of food and calling out to the workers for their lunch.

The small boys were pulling out whatever they could scavenge from the fire and the young girls were helping out in handing out the food while keeping the babies quiet. The samurai and men were busy trying to clear the fields and rebuild.

Nabiki dropped her backpack to the ground. They had not noticed her because important samurai usually had an entourage when they entered the city. She had none. She brought her hands to her lips and whistled.

Everyone stopped working, looked at her and bowed in respect. She winced... now she remembered why she didn't whistle when she arrived at a crisis area. She got the royal treatment. Most of the men knew her, after all, Yokohama was one of the important cities. She motioned for them to stand. "I need to talk to everyone in the city. Starting with the samurai. We'll do this in alphabetical order. Is the inn still standing?"

There was a chorus of yes and she nodded. "I'll stay there. After the first round of questioning, I'll talk to the merchants, peasants and then eta. I'll need a list of the city's inhabitants. Is the Shinto temple still standing?"

There was another chorus of yes. Nabiki nodded again. The Shinto temple was where the registry was at. It was unusual to ask for the eta, but she needed to talk to anybody who might know anything and the eta knew a lot more than they let on. "Good, get me a copy of that list. Who's the head of the samurai?"

A man stepped forward, she nodded to him. "I'll talk to you first then to the rest of the samurai stationed here. Any other questions?"

"Lady Saotome..." There was no question of what house she was from. All the peasants knew who their daimyo was. "There's a samurai here... a Lord Tatewaki Kuno."

Nabiki's eyes narrowed. "Kuno? What the hell is **he** doing here?"

The samurai could only shrug. Nabiki's eyes widened as she turned to Sohin. "That man that's walking over here, no, don't look now, damn you. That pompous looking arrogant... anyway, the one on the blue hakama, can you see him?"

"Well..." Sohin trailed off as he shifted his eyes towards the villagers discreetly. "Yes."

"If he comes over here and talks to me... don't counter anything I say, even though it sounds outrageously stupid." Nabiki gave him a long stare that brooked no argument. Her voice hardened, "I trust even you can follow that order?"

"I can follow reasonable requests, yes," Sohin answered slowly.

Nabiki resisted the urge to do him bodily harm. She wasn't the violent type, but Ifuku's husband always angered her. In the three days that they traveled, she almost hit him five times and started a fight two times. His answers always seemed like he was mocking her. "Just do as I--"

"Lady Saotome, I didn't know you'd be in such a desolate place." Kuno had not changed since the last time she saw him. He still needed a translator for a commoner to understand half of what he was saying. "Your beauty radiates in this blackness that seeps through your land."

"Why thank you Lord Kuno," Nabiki said in a tone that clearly meant she was anything but thanking him. "I appreciate your flattery, but what brings you here so deep in Saotome territory. I hope you weren't the one who set this fire?"

"Lady Saotome! For you to insinuate that I have done such a dastardly crime shows your fraught attempts to catch the arsonist have been all for naught." He turned towards his samurai and dismissed them. "I am here merely for the fact that a certain rumor has reached my ears, and I am here to ascertain the veracity of such a claim."

"Rumor tends to be false, Kuno," Nabiki said in a dry voice. "But pray, do tell, what's this rumor that you want to know?"

"Ah... my Lady Nabiki, Rumor is the voice of the people!" he announced, triumphantly quoting something she had read through her studies. "I am here to gather information on my love."

Figures. It was the only thing Kuno would risk his life and limb for. She envied Ranko in that sense. She had the undying love of a man... however neurotic he may be. Still... there were a lot more disadvantages to Kuno's advances than good. For one thing, he didn't listen to reason.

He still didn't believe in the curse and orders prevented Ranma from saying anything to him. Having a half-crazed man declaring his love for you every single day tended to give headaches, especially since Ranko wasn't really a girl. "Ahh, Kuno, your **love**, I don't think she's here at the moment."

"Hmm... highly unfortunate, but I will await her arrival a few more days," Kuno answered in his most irritating voice. Nabiki's nerves were raw from listening to him, but she kept a half smile on her face. "I'm to be betrothed you see and I wish to tell her things..."

"Married? You're getting married?" Nabiki hid her surprise quickly but the words were already said. If Ranma had not married Kodachi, she would have been stuck with Kuno for the alliance. According to Happosai though, it was more profitable if Ranma was the one who was tied down.

There had been a bet of sorts issued about their marriage. She could not remember the specifics, but she knew it had something to do abut her having a husband when Kuno found a wife. It had been done shortly after her banishment at the Ikkaseis.

"Will you wish me well on my finding a wife?" Kuno's voice was mildly searching.

"Congratulations, Lord Kuno," Nabiki answered trying to save her face, hoping that Kuno didn't particularly remember anything about the bet they had started on...

"It may appear that I have won our little wager, Lady Saotome." Kuno broke out into a smile. Nabiki almost let out a curse. "I do look forward to seeing you dance for my wedding."

'So **that's** my end of the bargain! I had completely forgotten! But the fool Kuno...' Nabiki's half-smile almost cracked. "You haven't won yet, Kuno. You see... I'm engaged too."

"Engaged?" Kuno asked the surprise in his face was evident. He didn't even bother to cover up for it. "I do not see a comb, nor have I heard any news of your wedding."

It was a nice time for him to break out of the haze that was his mind, a fine time. Nabiki wished she could strangle him. "I haven't told my brother yet. It isn't formal, but I hope it would be."

"Impossible, I do not see it. The clause of my sister's marriage includes the Kunos having all information about you, Lady Saotome." Nabiki had momentarily forgotten about **that** piece, it looks like she couldn't bluff her way unless she shows Kuno a husband. "My sister's life is closely related to yours that the Kunos take pains in seeing to what you do, exactly the way you do it."

"I have hundreds of fiancés, Lord Kuno," all of them gone after she married. The Ikkaseis held to their end of the bargain. "Don't you think that one of them would pursue me?"

"Not after all the time that you spent away." It looked like Kuno would get her to dance on his wedding night after all.

"I am engaged to a perfectly good man who--"

"Well... dear," It had been Sohin who interrupted her. Nabiki's smile cracked another centimeter. This was not good at all. "I really don't know why you should keep it a secret..." He pulled her braid, coiled it around and put Ifuku's comb to hold it. "After all we **are** going to be married."

-

"This is **not** good!" Nabiki fumed as Sohin looked at her from the rock he was sitting on, watching her wear down the riverbed. "You **are** aware that my brother is coming here tomorrow, aren't you?"

"Well, yes... but..." Sohin didn't seem to have anything to say. Nabiki plucked the comb out of her hair and threw it at his feet. If she was married to him, it would have signified her want for a divorce.

"You **are** aware that I spend most of the time with you trying to kill you, right?" Nabiki asked. It was an exaggeration, but something not far from the truth. "For us to **pretend** to be engaged is one thing, that's a nice enough plan because I could say that it was omiai. But to pretend with this bet on our heads? It means that I was the one who chose you."

Walking around in circles was not helping her get her temper down. She **could** tell Kuno the truth about Sohin, but then, that would make her even **more** embarrassed. She should have just consented to dancing for Kuno and his wife. What had she been **thinking** when she set the whole damned bet up? Dancing was not one of her strongest suites, dancing with only a few pieces of garments...

"You're welcome," Sohin answered as he picked the comb up from the small rocks, flicking the soil that it had managed to acquire, cleaning it gently. He handled the piece as though it were made from glass.

Nabiki stopped walking and turned to face him. "Did you **hear** any thank you's in my statement, Sohin-san?"

"No, but given enough time, you would've." Sohin shrugged as he met her gaze. "I know pride runs strong among samurai, and it might have taken a while, so I just acknowledged it."

"Do you realize who **you** are? **What** you are?" Nabiki demanded, her voice soft enough so that it would not carry over to the people, but loud enough for him to hear the threat. "You are **married**. You are married to the maid of my sister-in-law. Married to the sister of the man that you had just lied to. **Married**."

Sohin flicked the comb up in the air and caught it in his hands several times before answering. "What irritates you more, Lady Nabiki? The fact that I am married, or the fact of **what** I do for a living?"

Nabiki steeled, if she was close enough she would have slapped him for the insult. She settled for another glare instead. "I do not think of social **status** Sohin-san. I do not think that people are born below me. If you ask your wife, you will realize that I treat her as I would a samurai who works for me."

He smiled at her then slowly said, "Then it must be because I'm married."

"Are you suggesting, Sohin-**san**, that I am attracted to you?" Her eyes had narrowed down to dangerous slits. Nabiki was clearly more than angry. Her hands were balled to a fist and her head tilted, eyes promising hell if he answered wrongly.

"**You** said that."

Nabiki wanted to know where he got his subversive attitude. Peasants rarely stood up against samurai. Hatamoto even. He had the gall to rile her. She who was known for her wrath, as well as her skill in battle.

"I asked a question, I did not state it as fact. You have not answered it." Nabiki waved her hand. She didn't want it answered anymore. "When I meet my brother we will have a **long** talk."

Straightening herself up, Nabiki tried to wipe away the tension that Sohin managed to place there in the small amount of time that he claimed to be her fiancé. She put on a fake smile and opened her palm, as if asking for something. "Now hand me that damned comb." He tossed it at her, and she caught it with her outstretched hand. "And Sohin?" She waited until he looked at her before she said in the sweetest tone she could muster under the circumstance, "This constitutes as STUPID in my book."

-

The moment Kuno stepped into his room at the inn; it was obvious that he was not in a good mood, so the samurai shied away from him. He nodded to them in a dismissive act then went straight to confine himself. He was not left alone however, and his eyes rose to greet the lone samurai that had stayed.

He threw his two swords down the tatami and raised his eyebrows at him, "Is there something you'd like to tell me? Something like Lady Nabiki's **engagement** perhaps?"

"Lady Saotome is engaged?" He seemed just as surprised as he was when he heard of it. Spies at the Saotome territory were very few. Most of them on Nabiki, but Nabiki was a very elusive target. It was as if she winked in and out of existence.

Kuno glared at him. "I pay you to get my information for me, so that I would not look like a fool in such cases, **not** to be equally flabbergasted when I tell you something of significance."

"I am sorry, Lord Kuno." He bowed, but Kuno sighed. There was no way for them to have known anyway. Nabiki keeps her secrets close. When it came down to it, Nabiki was also one of the best spies in the Saotome Clan. No one could beat her in her own game. "Perhaps if you offered her marriage, then? It would cancel the wager equally."

"Are you daft? I told her I was marrying in the fortnight!"

"If I may ask, just who **is** going to play the bride, Lord Kuno?" The man asked, surprised again at the particular announcement, but had better preparation for it than the first. "I have heard no orders from your father..."

"That's because she was supposed to be Lady Nabiki."

The man was taken aback. It was obvious that Kuno was infatuated with the Lady Saotome for him to keep close tabs on her whereabouts. But Kuno had guarded his secret well by playing for the pigtailed one. He didn't know why Kuno kept it a secret. He suspected no one did. "I didn't know you planned to ask her. Why didn't you just do it the old-fashioned way?"

"Because I knew no other way," Kuno was irritated by the spy's questions, questions that he couldn't answer correctly. He had been playing the game so much that he had forgotten how to break away from it, because he knew if he chased Nabiki she would never come to him. Just as she never accepted her multiple engagements. Just as she never accepted her marriage. "Get me information on this Sohin character."

-

Nabiki was not someone who was usually startled. She knew everything one step before everyone else, but she had to be honest. The fire had completely taken her by surprise.

She knew that there might be an attack from their enemies, and Nerima was something she half-expected, but Yokohama was a complete shock. It was too deep in Saotome property to be bothered by **anybody** and it looked like an isolated village without any use at all.

She cleaned the quill and placed it beside the small plate of ink the villagers had kindly provided for her. Every report looked the same, the samurai knew nothing. Ninja attacked, they set the fire, they were out instantly. It was a simultaneous event when most of the villagers were already fast asleep. No one was able to spot the fire until it was too late to save anything.

Most of the samurai were put to death by the ninja and the few that were left were alive only because it was not their time to watch. The crime was clean, and there was no evidence of the ninja's presence except for the fact that samurai would have been sloppier. Other than that pure assumption, there was no evidence at all.

It matched everything the attacks at the border to some extent... but at a larger scale. Their enemy was getting desperate... or careless. 'But why? And to what end?' They were as close to this as it was a year ago, and whatever her brother said, she could only think of one person... 'Yet, she seems to have no motives, and she seems to be secluded. Am I wrong in thinking of Kodachi?'

She thumbed the small paper she placed Sohin's testimony on, wondering what was the connection between the Tendos and the fires. She could find nothing, except for the missing link. Akane Tendo. 'Where will I find Akane Tendo?'

The soft hiss of the shoji brought her back from reality, she shuffled the papers together. "Sohin, what have I said about knocking?" She asked in a stern voice, not bothering to look up.

"Well **you** don't knock when you enter my room."

Nabiki's face broke into a smile as she recognized the voice of her brother. She stood up immediately and went to greet him. "Ranma! You're early."

"You don't like it?" he teased lightly, dropping his backpack carelessly on the floor looking around the room for something to eat. "I hurried over. Nerima is a very efficient town. They hardly need me to look over their backs."

That was true. Their father had set up Nerima to be like that so that they would have no trouble when they came to power. Nerima could handle a few more assassination attempts and mercenaries. She pointed at the papers on the working table the inn had managed to salvage. "It's all there."

They had long since agreed that they should take down notes so that there would be a second look on the matter, whether it was Nabiki or Ranma who was gathering information. "Thanks, sis."

He didn't look at the papers, but looked at her thoughtfully. After a long pause he asked, "When did you get engaged, Nabiki?"

It took a while for her to answer that one. "How did you hear about that?"

"You make a habit to wear a marital comb recently?" he asked lightly, and Nabiki's hand shot up to her hair. She sighed as she pulled it out then tossed it over to Ranma, her long brown locks falling.

Catching the comb deftly, Ranma examined it, noting the dragon whisker curled around the last two teeth of the comb. The dragon whisker, as a rule, had no effect on women but made trouble for Nabiki when she was a guy. She usually kept it close to her person, but usually took it off when she had fair chances of not incurring the Jusenkyo curse. "It's beautifully made, Nabiki. Simple but worked hard upon."

"Is that supposed to cheer me up?" Nabiki frowned then dismissed it with a wave, remembering that he didn't know it was just an act. "Never mind, _it was a ruse to get me out of that dancing bet from Kuno, _" she spoke the last words in Chinese, fearing that others would listen in.

"Oh, **that** bet." Ranma resisted the urge to chuckle, having been there when the bet was made between her and Kuno. "What's so bad about dancing with a geta?"

"Nothing." Nabiki dead-panned, crossing her arms in front of her. "But then if it's the only thing you're wearing, it does tend to give a draft." She thought that Kuno was joking when he accepted the bet. She had miscalculated the extent he would go to humiliate her.

This time, Ranma didn't manage to hold back his laugh. Nabiki glared at him, and he managed to stop it before she could enact bodily harm. "So, who's the lucky guy?" he teased lightly.

"Sohin." Nabiki looked at the ground trying to hide her uneasiness, which bewildered Ranma. Nabiki was used to pretending -- maybe not complete lies, but she loved the game of half-truths. Pretending to be engaged shouldn't have been much of a problem. She had hundreds of fiancés.

"Small gift," he noted wryly, noticing exactly the same thing Nabiki had. It **was** a curious name. He moved towards her arranged her hair in a simple ponytail with the dragon whisker and finished it off with the marital comb. He waited expectantly bringing his hands on her shoulders. "And?"

"He's..." Nabiki's voice gradually dropped so much that even though Ranma was just behind her, he could not clearly understand what she had said.

"Nabiki!" he said exasperated, then moved in front of her so that he could look at her eyes. She quickly averted her gaze by scanning the papers in front of her. "What's with your fiancé anyway? You don't have to be ashamed. I mean, I'd be surprised if it's someone with a Jusenkyo curse, but by this time, surprises tend to run old."

"Really," Nabiki asked sarcastically, looking up to him. She scowled when she saw he was still holding a lopsided smile. She spoke in Chinese again, _" Even if I tell you I hooked up with Ifuku's husband? " _

He was silent for a moment, then his forehead creased in concentration in the most childish way. Nabiki couldn't stand it when he tried to adopt **that** thinking pose. Taking a deep breath she steeled herself. "You can laugh now." He obliged her with a loud raucous laugh.

Nabiki hit Ranma's head with the palm of her hand playfully. She scowled again. "What's so funny?"

Ranma stopped laughing and smiled at her. "I never really knew Ifuku had a husband." Nabiki resisted the urge to whack him behind the head. Here she was having a crisis on her supposed fiancé all he could do is look at it jokingly. "What's Kuno doing here anyway?"

"He's looking for you." Nabiki shrugged as she sat again at the small cushion calling for the maid to bring another one. When the servant left, she looked at Ranma. "It's the usual."

"What, he wants to kill me because I took his sister away, or his small infatuation?" Ranma asked. Kuno never really went so deep into Saotome territory. He wasn't stupid enough to make false moves in neutral ground. The fact he was there without say so meant he was desperate on finding the pigtailed girl. Infatuation was a sad thing.

"His small infatuation."

Something clicked inside Ranma's brain. Something about the bet Nabiki made with Kuno. "With him getting married? He's looking for Ranko when he's getting married? What's that guy up to?"

"I think he wants to say good-bye." Nabiki shrugged. It was really hard to second-guess someone who's crazy. Sometimes, she thought that Kuno was just as crazy as his sister, maybe even worse. "Or maybe he wants to kidnap you."

"Heh, I think it's more of the kidnapping than the goodbye." The maid came in with the cushion, and Ranma sat down facing his sister, opposite of the small table she set-up. He rearranged the pieces of papers across the table.

"I'm inclined to agree," Nabiki muttered folding her hands in front of her and resting her head on it, watching Ranma sift through the papers. "He's always been such an idiot. Who knew he was the type who wanted harems?"

"Uh... that was kind of obvious when he refused to stop chasing some other girl in the lower corners of Japan when he saw his pigtailed goddess you know."

Tatewaki Kuno held Rose Brier along with his sister for the sixteen years that had been assigned to him by his father. It was the reason why there was an abundance of roses in the vicinity though it was not indigenous to the parts. Kodachi's love for black roses was equal to her brother's obsession to the red ones.

"Who knows what his motives are? I bet the idiot doesn't know either." She shifted uncomfortably, not liking the topic of their conversation. "I couldn't get rid of him and I needed your help."

Ranma stopped looking at the papers and stared straight at Nabiki. "Don't tell me he managed to beat you?"

"Don't be silly," Nabiki answered tartly, "I couldn't manage to kick him out of sight. He's my brother-in-law. It's one of those inane clauses in your marriage with Kodachi. You should look at your marriage contract more often. What other things should we look into before this turns into Kuno-bashing day?"

"We also have a problem with the large cat infestation in Sagami," Ranma growled as he looked back the way he came. "It's getting worse. Sagami isn't supposed to be a 'cat' place."

They didn't get to answer as the shoji slid open again, Nabiki didn't turn to look up, peering at the papers along with Ranma, even if she was looking at it upside down. "We'll have lunch here, Shinko-san, and please hurry with the cushion," Nabiki said, naming the maid who was serving them.

"Will you have soup with the regular course?"

Nabiki and Ranma looked up from the papers they were looking over, both of them standing up immediately at the unusual question. The village being on fire left no choice on the food, Shinko would have just brought what was available inside. "Ranma, Sohin, Sohin, Ranma. And **why** are you still wearing your clothes?"

Sohin patted the tattered cloth that he had worn since he had caught up with Nabiki. He had no change of clothes so Nabiki had provided for him from the spare hakama the samurai had offered her. "This works for me. I am certainly not an exhibitionist."

Nabiki ignored the goading. "When I said **change**, I meant change your clothes, not your hairstyle," Nabiki lectured in a controlled voice that instantly signified she was extremely angry. His once almost shoulder length hair, which could have been put in queue just as most of the samurai, was now extremely short. She promised herself that after this experience she was going to pound him to the ground.

"With what? The people here are already having trouble with what they have. They don't need to give things to me." It was a noble thought, but one that would put their so called engagement on the rocks.

"You don't seem to understand, Sohin-**san**," Nabiki drawled walking towards him, driving her finger at his shirt. "You are supposedly my iinazuke. Being that, people are giving us **wedding presents**. If you don't wear them, people are going to take it as an insult."

Ranma took interest in Sohin, it was rare that he saw someone who could ignite such anger from Nabiki. She was rarely angry and not so much so that she snapped, which made Sohin an interesting person to look into.

"But --"

"No buts, you wear every single cloth they goddamn give you and you better do it with a smile on your face." She turned her back at him to see Ranma biting back another round of laughter. She glared at him, then turned back to Sohin and glared at him as well. "You started this, Sohin-san, so you better live up to what Yokohama expects you to be."

When he left to change, Ranma finally let out a laugh. Nabiki sent him another irritated look. "Stop laughing, you can't possibly find everything amusing."

It took him a moment to catch his breath and point out, "Nabiki, you shouldn't have been too hard on him. He was obviously trying hard."

"Easy for **you** to say." Nabiki pouted, and seemed almost like a ten-year-old child having a tantrum when she went back to her seat. "You're not the one engaged to him."

"Are you sure being 'engaged' to Sohin is a bright idea, Nabiki?" Ranma prodded in concern. Not only did they have a pseudo-wedding to pseudo-plan for Kuno, but they also had to explain to Ifuku.

"He's not a pervert if that's what you're getting at." Nabiki muttered, and Ranma sat down again. "He's been the perfect gentleman the whole trip."

"I wasn't thinking about that," Ranma mused, deep in thought. "You're required to stay close to Sohin the entire stay at Yokohama..."

Nabiki frowned, not knowing where Ranma's thoughts were taking him. Ranma looked at her suddenly. "Just make sure you don't fall in love with him, Nabiki. If it's a game, it's a dangerous one you're playing."

Snorting, Nabiki laughed, leaning forward, her hands pressing on the table. "Oh, so that's what you were worried about... Ranma, don't concern yourself over me. I've had a lot of practice with Genma giving me fiancés as I recall and I've always managed to pretend in enemy ranks. What makes this so different?"

"I don't know. You might just be the one who gets hurt." Ranma sighed, then imitated her pose. "Why don't you just tell Kuno that you broke the engagement?"

Nabiki's eyes flared. "You know the answer to that! You have just as much pride as I do, Saotome Ranma, and this is one thing I'm not going to lose. Sohin started this and I'm going to finish it. It's too late to back out now. Kuno is going to laugh at me for the rest of my life!" She leaned back, regretting that she had lost her temper, but it was too late to take back the words.

Nodding, Ranma piled all the papers up. When Nabiki sets her mind to do something there was no turning back. It was a matter of pride. Both of them knew that. They were similar in that aspect, and he understood her perfectly.

-

Ranma looked over the destruction that had wrecked Yokohama. The samurai who were supposed to guard the night was changing shifts. The few whose houses had been left untouched by the fire hosted those people who had none. There were no signs that there would be trouble and yet something disturbed him. It was a feeling that had started long ago.

"Sometimes, Sagami isn't worth having," Ranma grumbled as he turned around to face Sohin, who had been staring out at the destruction as well. Ranma had been surprised to find him there, and this was the first time they had ever really **met**.

Sohin turned to him slowly. "A lot of people would willingly take it out of your hands."

Ranma nodded. There was something different about Ifuku's husband. It was a feeling that he didn't know if he could trust. "Sagami is not mine to give." Few of those who keep their fiefs think like him.

"Then who can give it if not the ones who control it?" There was an education behind his words, something rare in a peasant. There was wisdom behind his thoughts, something rare in a man.

Smiling Ranma answered. "No one can give her away. We inherited Sagami to protect her. By giving her, we turn our back to a duty that we were born into, and when we lose her grasp, we hope that she clings to someone who can hold her."

Pausing for a moment to digest his words, Sohin moved his head to look at Ranma with more respect. "You speak as if the land lives."

"Do I?" Ranma shook his head, not really wanting to talk about what had been ingrained into both he and Nabiki when they were children. He tried to change the subject. "Thanks for saving Nabiki like that. When she's angry, she speaks before she could think. It's something we both have in common."

He was surprised at Ranma's words. No samurai has ever thanked a peasant for doing what was supposed to be done. He could see why Ifuku liked working for them. He could see why she didn't want to break away. "You're welcome." He paused for a moment, uncertain whether the samurai would take is question the wrong way, but asked it anyway, "Are you close? Your sister and you?"

"She's my twin," Ranma stated it as if it answered everything. "We grew up together. When we were young Lord Happosai took a woman from the village, she looked into our destiny. She said we would die together."

"She is a peculiar person..." Sohin trailed off as he looked at the inn where they were staying. It had two floors one below for eating and the upper for the rooms of the guests. It was on a cliff that overlooked most of Yokohama.

Ranma watched him. "Nabiki is very... I don't know... different."

"She is that..." He turned back to face him again.

Ranma would have said something more when he heard his sister's scream, his head snapped to her direction. "Nabiki..." He ran towards the inn and jumped up towards his floor, his ears registering the sound Sohin was making across the field. He was running as well.

Ranma landed lightly on the roof and opened the window to their room. Stepping inside, he was by her side in an instant. Nabiki had sat up straight and was clutching the small blanket that had protected her. "Nabiki, what's wrong?"

"I stopped having my nightmare a long time ago, Ranma." She took a deep breath as she leaned her head against his shoulder, giving her some of the comfort she had sought. "I don't know why he's come back to haunt me."

"It was different, this time it was my husband..." Nabiki looked at Ranma through the little moonlight that filtered through the shoji. "I've been having it since I arrived here."

Ranma took out the small comb that she had carelessly worn in her sleep. Her hair was damp with sweat and she was still breathing hard. Taking her hand he handed her the small comb. "You're tired. Maybe it's because of all of **this**."

"No, not all of this..." Nabiki sighed, not knowing what troubled her, and yet not wanting to talk about it. She was far more comfortable about someone else's problems. Just as long as they weren't her own. Having calmed down visibly, she sighed as she looked at him. "Tell me, what troubles your thoughts that you have not slept yet."

"Who's supposed to be comforting who here?" Ranma asked with his trademark smirk, but she gave him a serious gaze that meant she wasn't giving up. "Akane, mother, you... everything."

"Akane..." She frowned as she repeated the name then tightened her fist around the comb. "It's the second time I've heard you call her that. I can't believe you've fallen in love with her."

Because he has never been comfortable around love, it was very difficult for Ranma to admit to such emotion. Nabiki reached out her hand to touch his face, and she stared into his troubled eyes. "Yes, I think you do love her."

"Why ask? It seems like you've already made up your mind on the answer." He frowned at her as she stared at him, and he knew instantly that he couldn't back out of this one. "You've always poked your nose where it didn't belong."

"A trait you find valuable." She put her hand down from his face and embraced him. "It's because you'd have never admitted it to me. I've feared for this day."

"That I'd find someone to love?" It seemed harsh to anyone's ears but Nabiki didn't mind, knowing that Ranma only meant to clear it. Yet, through that answer she learned that she had been right.

"That you'd love someone who's incapable of returning it. I've been obsessing too much with your love life haven't I?" She had known for a long time that Kodachi was not someone that could easily be dismissed. Now that she had her brother's heart, she hoped she would never be able to command it. She pushed herself away. "Thank you for coming to me."

"I always do." He hesitated a bit before speaking again, "You should sleep."

She shook her head, not wanting to return to the world that she didn't understand, to the dreams that she couldn't decipher. Not understanding frightened her. "I don't want to sleep yet, for there is no solace in sleeping for people like me. I take your time, Ranma, sleep, for there is work to be done tomorrow."

He didn't sleep until she had finally surrendered to the weariness that the day had brought upon her.

-

Sohin straightened from his previous position of leaning against the shoji. Having been assured that there were no assassins, kidnappers or imminent danger, he resigned himself to go to his room to sleep.

'I can't afford to fall in love,' Sohin thought as he retreated to his quarters. 'Especially not to Saotome Nabiki.'

* * *

The next morning found Ranma and Nabiki hard at work rebuilding Yokohama, not minding the mud that caked their Chinese slippers, the sweat that stuck to their hair and the charcoal that smeared their faces.

Downtown Yokohama occupies a triangular plain bordered by narrow streams on two sides and by the bay on the other side. It was probably the reason why the fire hadn't spread on that part. The problem lay on the more residential areas among the hills where water was hard to flow.

True, Yokohama was little more than seashore with sparsely spaced houses, but there must have been a reason for the arsonist to burn the place, just as there had to be a reason for the arsonist to burn Nerima.

Since the city was far from civilization, the task of rebuilding took longer than necessary. The wood needed to rebuild was taken from afar, but they were starting to have progress. Workers from the adjoining cities already started to come and help rebuild Yokohama. Everyone was busy, and you could see everyone working on the street, at the fields, by the river. There was no place that wasn't occupied by people who were bent on renewing the city.

Nabiki could see a stonecutter in the distance working on the immaculate white stones found in the river bank for the steps of a house. There were sawyers using bamboo-handled saws to separate planks from the bigger blocks of wood. Some women dipped a string in ink and touched it to the boards that the men were sawing so that the wood was cut straight.

There were even braziers that had been scavenged on the houses. Some samurai carried new ones by a bamboo pole slung across their shoulders with the braziers attached with rope on either edge. By the river, a few men started making the big buckets that were needed as silos for the rice and other materials. Some of the finished ones were sent to the ladies who were washing the men's clothes and dying the cloth. There were even women starching newly bought cloth over to make as kimonos or shoji.

A few of the younger girls were holding a rice basket for winnowing. Some of the older girls were cooking. Most of the boys were out in the field trying to harvest what was left while the others planted what they could. A few of them had gone out on the river to fish.

Nabiki took it upon herself to check up on the supplies, managing who would do what, and that all were fed properly and were rested. She had a haori, a shawl specially designed to hold a baby on the back, which was holding an already soot-faced baby for one of the ladies.

Ranma was currently trying to help the men build the foundations of the houses. Nabiki nodded, everything was coming out slowly, but it was to be expected. She turned towards the women to check on their progress. All of them were been divided into groups, washing, dying, starching and sewing some of the cloth that would stretch over the frames to make the walls.

They smiled at her as she squatted beside two ladies who were sitting around a large wooden pail, to help them wash the dirt stained cloth that they had salvaged from the fire. The women made some space for her but protested at her presence.

"You should be dying the pastels on the cloth, my lady," one of the women said shyly as she plunged the cloth into the already gray colored waters of the vat. "Not with the dirtied linen." They thought anything dirty was something that was reserved for peasantry, they didn't know how much dirtier it was with the nobles. Nabiki wanted to curse the caste system, but kept her thoughts to herself.

"Nonsense," Nabiki argued plunging her hands into the cold water, scrubbing the cloth right along with them. It was harder to scrub than to sew or dye. "You need help more than those women do."

"But you're to be married!" the other one protested, not really trying to keep her away from the task, but putting up enough fight so as not to insult Nabiki. Not that Nabiki saw any logic why being engaged should prevent her from household chores. If that was the way she thought, she'd have starved when she was sixteen with Genma and Ranma.

Still, she had almost forgotten about that. She almost sighed, and the child she carried on her back began to cry. She had almost forgotten what it was to have a child crying. She took the straps off her back, wiping her hands on her pant legs and smiled at the one-year-old toddler gathering him in her arms. "Come now. Don't cry on me."

The two women watched what she did in silence. Somehow, Nabiki knew that what she did here would be important to how these women would see her. Yokohama was a faraway town, and though most of these women knew her by name, they didn't know **who** she really was. "Hush now." She began to rock the child lightly back and forth. "We don't have much food, so we have to sacrifice a bit."

"Here." Nabiki looked up to find Kuno standing over her. She stood up immediately, knocking the basket over, holding the boy close to her chest. "The child can have all of my provisions."

Nabiki looked at his offered hand. A small bowl of rice and a few pieces of fish that she had not noticed earlier was on it. Nabiki started. "You won't get any food from the village Lord Kuno, there's nothing much in the village. We're drinking watered soup to fill our stomachs."

"All the more reason to accept my most gracious offer," Kuno answered. Nabiki shifted the toddler so one of her hands was free and took the bowl from his hands. He had been probably out to eat.

"Thank you." Nabiki would have bowed if she could, but with her charge she could only let out a small forced smile. She didn't like concern from a person she was duping.

"Shall I feed the child, my lady?" one of the ladies offered, wiping her hands at a nearby rag that was kept close to the dirtied linens. "My lord might want to speak with you."

Nabiki didn't have time to decline as the baby was taken out of her arms and the bowl quickly taken from her to feed the child. Seeing that the woman had everything under control, Nabiki turned back to her gracious benefactor. "How unlike you, Lord Kuno, giving up something that you needed for a child you do not know."

Kuno opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it, nodded and turned away. Somehow, Nabiki felt guilty about **that** particular gibe. She took hold of his shoulder. "Don't tell me you're hurt."

"Shouldn't one be when an obvious insult has been laid in front of him?" Kuno asked then turned to go again. Nabiki had always thought of Kuno as no more than an idiot savant, but she had to admit, she had overstepped her boundaries.

He had walked a good distance when she tried to catch up with him. "Hey, I didn't mean it to come out **quite** as it did." There was a hint of apology in her voice, and Kuno knew she wouldn't give him more.

There was a significant pause while they walked towards the inn where Kuno was currently staying. In an attempt to keep talking with her, Kuno asked, "How has my sister been?" There was obvious concern in his voice. Kuno protected his own, even if they were deranged little maniacs like his sister. "I hope she has been well."

"She's recovering," Nabiki answered, then quipped, "I think sickness rests well with Kodachi. She's been livable these past few months."

That got his attention. He stopped walking and turned to her. Nabiki almost crashed against him at his abrupt halt. "Define livable, Lady Saotome."

She looked at him, bewildered at his question, but it seemed like he valued the answer she was going to give so she humored him. "Livable, she's being **nice**. She's never been nice before."

The transformation from deep concentration to profound amazement rippled across Kuno's face slowly, beginning with his eyes down to his mouth. He stared at her not believing the news she brought. "I cannot believe she listened to me."

A growing suspicion nagging her mind, and a pain spreading from her heart began to engulf Nabiki when she heard the words. She was filled with dread over what he was going to tell her. "Listened to you?" she repeated.

"I told her I'd make her commit seppuku if she continued mistreating your family." The admission shattered everything. Every possibility for a future. They had been partly right, Kodachi had been pretending, but whereas before Nabiki knew no motive, now it was clear as glass. Kodachi did it so she could continue living. If Nabiki felt so betrayed...

She had not realized that she would be this upset over Kodachi's betrayal. No... she wasn't upset too much about the betrayal, she had expected that. She was more troubled by the repercussions. She closed her eyes and thought about her brother. 'Imagine how Ranma would feel.'

She shook her head involuntarily trying to deny it, more because she wanted her brother to find love rather than trust in Kodachi. Kuno was starting to look at her oddly, so Nabiki tried to clear things up a little. "You **threatened** her to be nice?"

"I would not say threaten, Lady Saotome--"

She closed her eyes at the explanation, not wanting to hear the highfaluting words that he was spouting, and the long roundabout way he had of talking to people. She shut everything out and breathed hard. At least Ranma doesn't know about it yet. "Every emotion charged towards us was **staged**?"

He paused in his explanation, then frowned. "Why would that be so? Should emotion be staged when you are merely trying to be civil?" He did not understand anything, did he?

"**Civil** if you're Kodachi Kuno, I'd be expecting damned civility!" Nabiki shouted. "That wasn't civility that she had shown, it was outright niceness."

By now, Kuno was extremely puzzled at what Nabiki was telling him. "Then why be so angry?"

"Because everything was a **game**!" Nabiki answered furiously, Kodachi had played with everybody's damned emotions. There was nothing real behind the smile, the loving words that she was trying to coax. She was willing to change her life so that she would live. "Don't you understand?"

When she looked at him, she knew he didn't. "Don't tell anybody. **Anybody** that we talked about this." She turned around to find Ranma, a frozen smile across his face, carrying a small folded kimono across his arms. She froze when she saw him. "Ranma."

"Lord Kuno, Nabiki." He acknowledged them both with a nod, the smile now more of a grimace. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to congratulate you on your marriage, Kuno. Nabiki, I brought one of your wedding gifts."

He thrust the kimono into her hands and nodded to Kuno again, then turned to walk away. Nabiki stared at the kimono her brother had given her, a light blue one embroidered with clouds. "Oh, Ranma."

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Endnotes:

(1) Chisei: intelligence

(2) The money then had holes in the middle so merchants and

peasants when carrying them strung them together (well

they had no wallets, okay?)

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**Author's Notes:**

If you're still unsure of the heirarchy I'm using, I copied one history book down at my livejournal. Just look at the resources. I also copied it down here but as you all know, ff.n strips formatting... so...

On Saggit's questions : (which I cannot answer personally because I don't know your e-mail addy :)

On the original plotline, Kodachi was never supposed to appear, which is the reason why she came in so late and so suddenly. I'm still looking for a good reason **how** she appeared :) Anway... I respect your opinion of Kodachi and thanks for telling me about it.

Plus, I hope you don't mind, I liked your review so much I quoted you on another person's review... I forgot to say that it was a quote from you because I forgot who exactly I quoted from until I saw the review... gomen...

On another note, they haven't asked a shinto priest to determine Kodachi's possession because a) they're supposed to Christians now remember (Portugese were Catholic in the 1600's right?? I can't remember...) and b) I can't have a shinto priest spoiling the whole story :) Although the lack of acceptance is only on Ranma's part because he was the only person Akane told the dying and living again bit. Her supposed 'possession' now is amnesia, which everyone is doubting. Besides, Kodachi's personality has always led me to believe that she won't be believed for a drastic change. (I mean everyone thinks she's crazy and all).

I think that's all for this chapter folks. Thanks for patiently waiting.

See 'ya

iCe

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I write when the spirit moves, and I make sure it moves every day.  
unknown

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**website: **ice _dot_ esmartdesign _dot_ com  
**e-mail**: siuane _at_ gmail _dot_ com  
**livejournal**: ice _underscore_ of _underscore_ dreams 

you have more chances of reaching me at my livejournal and my email address


	13. Part 12: September

**Revision:**  
04/02/06 – common mistakes in the English language

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**Little Note Before you read anything: **

Implied adult situations.

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Are women Saints?  
No Saints, and yet no Devils,  
Such Needful Evils,  
That few can be without.  
**Wit's Recreation  
**_John Ashmore_

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**Rendezvous with Fate v.3**  
by iCe  
Chapter 12

_... I didn't know what happened. I didn't know what I was going to do..._

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The moment Ranma had heard the assessment of Kodachi's actions out of Nabiki's lips, he felt the sinking feeling he was accustomed to whenever he had learned about one of Kodachi's little 'errands'.

He wanted to believe her so much that he was blinded to everything Even to a very sordid history he had with her deceiving them every step of the way.

Kodachi never did have the qualms to pretend as long as it was for her own benefit.

But she put up with Nabiki's ridiculous idea of Martial Arts in Good Graces.

Kodachi was a consummate actor.

She was willing to teach Hanae and was determined to prove she was worthy.

She also threatened to kill Hanae countless of times before.

Ranma raked his hand through his disheveled hair jumping from one tree to the other. Had they been all played for fools? "Who do I believe, Kodachi who I've lived with most of my life or Akane who I've only seen for the past year?"

He remembered what Nabiki had told him the day before he left for Rose Brier.

-------------------------

Nabiki disturbed his thoughts by opening the shoji and bringing him a cup with warm tea. She knelt down beside his futon as he pulled himself up into a sitting position. "I thought you'd be awake."

He rested his head against his knee as he watched her pour the green tea into one cup then offered it to him. It was unusual that she'd come into his room in the evening, but her presence was comforting. "And which do you believe Nabiki, Kodachi or Akane?"

Nabiki stared at the cup that Ranma took and frowned deeply. Both she and Ranma avoided the question the entire month they stayed inside Yokohama. They focused on the devastation by the fires and the repairs that were needed.

However, as the repairs dwindled down to final touches, and there was not so much back breaking work left for Ranma to do, his thoughts continued to circle around the thoughts that Kuno left him about his wife. She took a deep breath, as if she dreaded the moment that they would talk about it and said, "You're asking the wrong question Ranma. It's not a choice between Kodachi and Akane. There is no choice, there is only one: your wife."

He had run through the finishing touches to Yokohama blindly, the two extended weeks passed through dully, and Yokohama was finished. Nabiki was worrying about her so-called wedding with Sohin and Kuno postponing his wedding for hers. Which was quite odd, especially since there was a bet looming on their heads. Nabiki dismissed it as 'being Kuno' but Ranma doubted it.

Still, there were other things on his mind, and Nabiki's farce was the least of them.

Nabiki shifted uncomfortably looking at Ranma. She had not wanted to tell him about her suspicions because she had been afraid of his reaction. "I asked Cologne to bring the children to Nerima. I do not think it's still safe for them to remain at Rose Brier without us."

Ranma frowned but nodded. He did not want the children under the same roof with Kodachi, nor did he want them around when he did deal with her. "If you were in my place, what would you do with her?"

Nabiki took a deep breath weighing Ranma's question carefully. On one hand she had never actually believed that Kodachi was telling them the truth, on the other she had not wanted the truth she presented to be a lie. "Lock her up **somewhere**, but I have overly suggested that to you, Ranma."

The words Nabiki spoke did not reassure him. The consequences of Kodachi's death were rather large. "Do you really think that this merits her seclusion? Playing us for fools has always been her game. This is even milder than her past actions."

"Yes, this is mild compared to the others." Nabiki said softly, she had her own share of Kodachi's stories, and most of them were not pleasant. "But do you not think this should be the last? I worry to the extent she would go, there are questions that are left to be answered, why the determination to teach Hanae, why remain in Rose Brier?"

"You really think that this is a lie then?" Ranma asked, as though asking the question over and over again would convince him otherwise, or would get a different reaction from his sister.

"Even as the border troubles commenced, I was suspicious of her presence in the house wondering if the border attacks were because she was there." Nabiki was distrustful of Kodachi before, and she mentioned that Kodachi might be the source of their troubles. He wanted to be sure. "I was not willing to tell you anything before I had tangible proof for fear that I might be wrong, but this has forced my hand. Every time the trouble brewed around the borders Kodachi was home, maybe not recently but this seems like the calm before the storm."

"And the fire in both Yokohama and Nerima?" Ranma asked Nabiki quietly. "Is that my wife's doing as well?"

"Only a Saotome would know when all the samurai would be pulled out from the towns for Happosai's little gathering." Nabiki reminded him. "We have forces to keep people from going in our cities, but little for restraining those from within. I feel strongly that the border troubles were a diversion for the fires. You have given me the mission of finding out what troubles the borders. I am almost at the end of my task..."

Ranma looked at his sister, her unfinished sentence troubled as much as her conclusions have. "You wonder if I'm up to **my** task."

"No, Ranma, I didn't mean it that way." Nabiki said harshly. "I would never question your abilities. I do not want to deal her a fate she does not deserve."

"And if we make a mistake?" Ranma asked slowly, knowing that he had to leave some room for error.

Nabiki knew the question would come. She had asked it of herself as well, but she had to have the interests of Sagami first. "We're not allowed to make mistakes."

Ranma knew that action was needed from him. But why now? Why now after more than nine years of living with Kodachi and turning a blind eye to all her misdeeds. Was this pretense enough to merit certain action? "Excuse me, Nabiki, but I'd rather keep to myself tonight."

Nodding, Nabiki cleaned up the tea set she had brought. "Good night, Ranma." She said before leaving him to his thoughts.

Ranma had not slept all that much in the evening, the thoughts of what to do about his wife plaguing him. In the end, there was only one decision to be made and that had been to go home.

Nabiki leaned at the door watching Ranma pack all of his things with mild interest, she had never seen him in a hurry to go home, **ever**. Apparently, there really are such things as firsts. "You can't leave here because of her. I'm the going home to deal with this situation."

Nabiki winced at the way he said the words. She had never seen Ranma as livid as he was at the moment. He was almost emotionless the night before. She was truly scared at the show of anger, not for herself, but for the person who was at the receiving end. Ranma's anger was slow in coming, but she was hardly happy with it manifesting now. She wanted Kodachi dealt with, but not with Ranma overly emotional. "I don't think it's wise to confront Kodachi now, Ranma. You're angry at her."

"There's no other perfect time to deal with her, other than **when** I'm angry at her." Ranma ground out, he picked up his bag and began to walk out of the room, his pace beginning to speed up. "She has been the perfect little wife, hasn't she? I'm hurt. It had taken an explicit order against her life for her to pretend to be nice."

Nabiki had to run to keep up with her brother's larger stride. "Ranma, please be reasonable. Let's go to mother first. Just to cool off your head. You might do something you'll regret. Come to mother's house and we'll work up something for Kodachi." Nabiki argued, pulling on Ranma's sleeve. He brushed her hand away rather violently. He stopped walking and turned to her.

"I'm an idiot. A goddamned idiot. You can tell me now."

"What?" Although it wasn't something to be happy about, Nabiki resisted the urge to smile. There was something extremely boyish in the way he said that.

"You're itching to tell me that you told me so." He accused crossing his arms in front of his chest and then tapping his foot against the soft earth, impatiently waiting for what he knew was inevitable.

"I'd rather not rub salt to your injury." Nabiki smiled a bit then sighed as Ranma deepened his frown. "Oh, all right. I can't believe I'm letting you go." It had never been her choice. He would go even if she didn't want him to. "Promise me you won't do anything irrational."

He gave her an indignant look. "When have I been irrational?"

"All the time." Nabiki deadpanned. She then held his arm, preventing him from moving away from her. "Come on, I won't let you go without your promise." There was a hesitant pause before he gave her his word. "I'll rejoin you in Rose Brier soon. Before the children need to swear in."

The townspeople already gathered amidst the semi-revived town, wanting to bid goodbye to their lord. He gave out a forced smile and thanked the gods that Kuno was not out. He did not know what he would have done if he had been.

"Oh... and Nabiki? I'm giving you the rest of the month to stay at Yokohama. You really don't need to come with me." Nabiki's jaw dropped open as she started to protest, she couldn't be left alone in Yokohama with Sohin and Kuno and the bet looming over their heads with -- "You have a wedding to plan."

She was stunned, good, that would give him time to leave. Nabiki snagged his sleeve, a fake smile plastered across her face as she whispered, "I can't believe you're doing this, Ranma! Damn you."

"You don't want it?" He knew she wouldn't turn the offer down because the people would wonder why she would pass such a gift from her brother. Time was something rarely given and the people -- especially Kuno -- would ask why she refused the offer.

She bowed. "My lord is gracious." She then leaned closer, and to the people who were watching, it seemed like she was giving him an affectionate hug. She leaned towards his ear and whispered, "I'll get you for this, Ranma."

He gave her a smile and when she stepped back and looked up to him, his smile widened. "I know."

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No one will be home when he confronts Akane -- Kodachi. He wondered if it was wise but dismissed the idea as soon as it had entered his thoughts. He had to go home sometime, and the best time to deal with Kodachi was when she didn't know what to expect.

He landed gracefully in front of the Rose Brier. As he entered through the arches, one of the samurai bowed to him and offered to carry his pack for him. He continued towards the house, giving no indication that he either saw or heard him.

Akane was out in a second. At first a smile lit her face, but as she drew closer and slowed to a halt, it turned into a frown. "Ranko, where have you been? I've been looking for you. Hanae and Sei were called to Nerima and..."

Whatever she said barely registered in Ranma's brain as he noticed that he was indeed female. He had not even been aware when or how he had managed to become wet, but he -- or rather she was.

"Well? Have you been listening?" A flash of worry showed through Akane's face as she walked towards Ranma-chan slightly tilting her head. "Ifuku said that you were with Nabiki and Ranma. Aren't they coming home?"

'Tell me it isn't true.' He wanted to demand the moment he heard the words out of her mouth, yet the pain that had numbed his heart when he heard Nabiki's assessment still weighed heavily against him. "Don't you dare pretend with me, Kodachi." Inside he winced at the steel he heard in his own voice. "You know who I am. I talked to your brother. I'm sure you'll understand what he's told us."

Technically, that wasn't true either. He didn't talk to Kodachi's brother, and she might have not known what Tatewaki would tell... but then, he wasn't thinking straight either.

"What am I supposed to understand?" Akane asked, bewildered at the sudden hostility that the girl was showing. She shook her head and brought her hand up to touch Ranma's shoulder. Ranma glared at her then walked past Akane. Akane put her hand down. "I thought."

Ranma stopped moving towards the house, Akane's words of denial, the final straw. He whirled around to face Kodachi, took her hand and pulled her towards the house. "Come with me."

"But..." It was the only thing Akane could get past her lips as she was dragged towards the house by Ranma's strong hands. She only noticed that they were in the kitchen when they stopped. "What are we doing here, Ranko?"

"Putting an end to the 'Ranko' business." Ranma answered as he turned to the servants that cluttered the kitchen, the sounds of talk immediately stopped as they bowed low and waited for someone to relieve them. "I'd like you all to retreat to your quarters for the day. I'll send Ifuku when you can return."

There was no protest as the ten or so servants that cluttered the room left. Everything that they had been doing left at the small tables. "Why do that Ranko? And why here?"

"Because this isn't something that concerns them." Ranma took a kettle of hot water from the brazier that the maids had all surrounded earlier. "I'm doing this only once. Don't you want to guess what will happen next?"

Akane bit her lip hesitantly. She was nervous. It was not a good sign for her innocence regarding the matter. 'Good, let the strain get to her nerves for once.' Ranma thought as he swung the kettle lightly on his fingertips. He didn't need to do this, but he wanted to make her admit everything to stop the pretense. 'At least give me that much.'

"Make tea?" Akane offered up helplessly, and Ranma was once again reminded of how good an actress his wife really was. She looked clearly dumbfounded.

"Funny. I never knew you had a sense of humor." But Ranma didn't want the confrontation to last more than it should, and so, he unceremoniously dumped the remains of the kettle on her head. The change came over him, muscles expanding, height growing, breasts diminishing, until his body reached its full proportions.

Akane took this all in with wide eyes. She dazedly went forward and raised her hand to touch his chest. It angered him more that she was still willing to wear the façade of innocence. When she had satisfied herself that there were **no** breasts, she looked up to him.

There was hurt and betrayal in her eyes, and Ranma wondered again if he was somehow making a mistake, that she **had** been telling the truth and he's over-reacting. "How **could** you?" She slapped him hard on the face and ran out of the kitchen. Ranma just looked at the door where she had exited, then raised his hand to his cheek.

He mentally shook his head. No, he didn't want to believe another lie. He believed in Nabiki's capability to assess people's motives, and she said that Kodachi played them. Kodachi had always been the perfect actress, fit for any role. Hurt and betrayal did not suit her, but she used them well.

"Ifuku!" It took three calls for the maid to hear him, as she scurried towards the kitchen and bowed low. "Go get Yuka and the rest of the staff at their quarters. Tell them I won't be eating for the night. I'll be at the dojo. I do **not** want to be disturbed."

"Yes, Lord Saotome." Ifuku rose from her bow and scurried to perform the orders.

Ranma watched her go then turned towards the dojo, his resolve against his wife strengthened. Opening the large double doors, he sighed. Without the children, the dojo was pretty much useless to him. But since he didn't want to be seen, the dojo was the next best option, the other was camping outdoors on a training trip. He had enough of camping from Yokohama, thank you very much.

He took a deep breath, didn't bother with stretching his muscles and started to do a long complex kata that he hadn't performed since the last time he was this angry.

As he moved along the hard and forceful blows, he wondered if peace was ever going to come to Rose Brier.

-

"You mean you **knew** of this all along?" Akane asked, incredulously at her maid, furious at the sudden surprise that her husband had landed at her. "You **knew** Ranko was Ranma?"

In a way, it made sense. The way Ranko wore the same things Ranma did, or the peculiar room arrangements and why Ranko looked so much like he did. But it was all the more unclear because she **has** seen the two of them together. Everything didn't make sense. But then, ever since she had landed in the past when did **anything** make sense?

"Yes, Lady Saotome, I am one of the very few privileged to know about Jusenkyo." Ifuku was taking all of it in stride. The fact that her **maid** knew more than she did irked her all the more. She was made out for a fool and Ranma was getting away with it. Ifuku continued gently, "I would suggest not taking up Lord Saotome on the battlefield right now. He is most assuredly angry at you, my lady."

"Angry? What the hell is he supposed to be angry about?" Akane fumed, and in all truths, Ifuku could not see any reason why Ranma should be angry at Akane either. There was no point in all of this when they had been so much in love when he left.

Something had happened and it had changed Ranma's outlook on his wife. "We are never given the easiest road in life, my lady. Maybe Lord Ranma has chanced upon one of her ladyship's past 'misdeeds'?"

What Ifuku meant by misdeeds, Akane would never know. Kodachi did too many 'misdeeds' for her to pinpoint on one particular thing. Everything that Kodachi could have done in the past would have been erased by her claim of amnesia. It just didn't make sense that Ranma could completely turn around his perception of her.

Akane wished she could go home. Home was when her life was dull, but relatively safe. 'I wish I was never sent here. I wish I've never had this fight with Ranma.' But then that's the problem with Ranma... he always sets Akane's temper. It was like the reason he stepped in the house was solely to flare her temper up.

With the way Ifuku was hovering over her, she knew the woman was trying to think of someway to make her feel better, but there was nothing she could do. In the end, Akane wanted more to be alone than to be comforted, especially since the only comfort she could accept was Ranma's. "Please leave me."

A flash of uncertainty went past Ifuku's eyes, as she thought of whether she should obey and leave or take into consideration what Akane needed and stay. Eventually, compliance won, so she bowed and silently left the room. Whatever argument Ranma and Akane had, it was up to them to solve it.

This had to happen when everything was going well... 'Karma,' Ifuku thought, 'The Gods of Fate have always been playfully sadistic...'

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Nabiki did **not** like it when her own brother tricked her. Not one bit. Not at all. She threw her hands up in frustration as half of the inn room was piled up with gifts for her supposed wedding. 

She had already received things ranging from a nice fan to the more provocative Pillow Book and the 'toys' that came with it. She was going to strangle Ranma. But before she strangled Ranma... she was going to kill that good for nothing bastard... "Where **is** he?"

"Looking for your future husband, Lady Nabiki?" Nabiki spun around to find Kuno leaning against the door, with that weird little smile of his. She put a mental note to herself that she should strangle him as well.

She glared at him, and he ignored her as he continued to walk by the clutter of her room, raising an eyebrow at the articles here and there. Ever since Ranma left her, she became more irritable, raised her voice at Kuno and Sohin constantly and generally became bossier. "Are you being pesky Lord Kuno? Do you really wish an answer to that particularly **stupid** question of yours?" This wasn't good, she wasn't supposed to be **provoking** Kuno.

"He is outside," he answered nonchalantly, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world and Nabiki had failed to see it. Nabiki's temper rose a notch higher. Not only was Kuno the reason why she was stuck here in the first place, he was also the reason why Ranma was not here stuck with her.

"Bravo. How may I ask did you arrive at that conclusion?" Nabiki asked in feigned awe, something that she had mastered since childhood. She glared at him and then waved her hand at the room. "Maybe because he's not **in** the room?" She drew out the last words with a level tone.

"Oh... not really. I merely saw him stroll out." Nabiki's mouth opened to retort then she shut it again. What was the use when you were talking to an idiotic blockhead like Kuno Tatewaki in the first place? She didn't even know if sarcasm was in his painfully outdated vocabulary.

She took out a big sack and started packing some of the small items that was given to her. She could take them to Rose Brier for her 'marriage' while the rest she would ask the owner of the inn to store for the moment. She didn't care that Ranma gave her a month off. She didn't care that she was going to dance with only a geta on Kuno's wedding night. She was sick and tired of Yokohama. Not Yokohama, particularly, for she enjoyed running her shared han with Ranma, but of the people surrounding her. She should be spending a quiet time at home getting irritated by Kodachi than spending her entire week in Yokohama getting harassed by both Kuno and Sohin.

"I've changed my mind. I'm going after my stupid brother." Nabiki muttered as she dumped a beautiful white furoshiki unceremoniously into the sack, followed by whatever materials she could grasp. "I've decided that I **really** don't want Kodachi to die, even if she deserves it, and my marriage can wait."

Kuno looked at all this with a smile on his face. "Really, Lady Saotome? If I marry next week, you're going to be forced to dance for my bride and me."

"However did **you** of all people manage to make me bet on something as stupid as **dancing** in geta?" Nabiki asked as she threw everything, not bothering to see where it was landing anymore. "I mean don't you think your wife would find something unethical about it?"

Kuno started to answer but Nabiki whirled around and made a warding gesture with a loud sound of frustration. "Arghhh -- don't answer that! If wives arrange courtesans then **obviously** wives can permit their husbands viewing naked women in getas."

Kuno looked at this all with mild amusement. She picked up her backpack and slung the enormous sack over her shoulder. She took offence at his smile. She took offence at his mere presence. "Not one word, Kuno. Not one word. Regards to your future wife, but I'm going home."

He couldn't help it. He spoke up, "Perhaps this has something to do with you dying when my sister dies?" The clause in Ranma's marriage usually got Nabiki's hackles up, especially since she was the one who was going to get the brunt of it.

Nabiki turned back and glared at him. "At least **that's** better than dancing in a **stupid** geta for a **stupid** wedding, wherein I haven't seen a **stupid** bride yet." She was close to a shout when she ended that sentence.

Her tirade was interrupted by Sohin as he walked nonchalantly into the room. He looked at her, at the pack, and back at her before asking. "Uh... What are you doing?"

"Sohin, darling," She almost cringed as she said the endearment. What she really had wanted to say was: 'Isn't it obvious, moron?' or something along those lines. Fortunately for Sohin, Nabiki had most of her temper in check. Kuno didn't seem to notice the tension between the two of them.

"I've decided that my brother has been temporarily touched by the kami... he's not fit to be in Rose Brier ALONE!" She smiled as sweetly as she could while carrying an enormously heavy pack, and trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice, being the nice and dutiful and **in-love** fiancée that she was supposed to be. "Be a dear and help me get to Rose Brier in time."

Sohin looked genuinely confused. That's good, at least she'd confuse **him** for once. Besides, that he's not voicing that pesky opinion of his. At least he's learning to play his part in this whole fiancé fiasco. Now if she could get her life back. "I just decided that I'd rather get married in Nerima, with family." She glared daggers at him, the first sign that her irritation was breaking through. "Now let's get to Nerima, darling."

"You know Lady Saotome, with your sudden mood swings..." Kuno hid a small smile behind his hand, he took his time and waited until he had both Sohin and Nabiki's attention before asking, "Are you perhaps carrying child?"

Nabiki glared at Kuno again, her ire fully showing this time. "Now **that** is the stupidest thing I have heard from you. Do I look like a woman with **child** Lord Kuno?" With that she stomped down the stairs with the big bag in tow.

"I think..." Sohin sighed as he looked at the path Nabiki took. "I better go and help her." He quickly took his own things and dashed after Nabiki. When he reached her, she was already standing in front of two neat rows of samurai, the sack containing their 'gifts' were at her feet. "Nabiki..."

She turned around to glare at him, so he kept his distance. When she was satisfied he wouldn't interfere she turned to the samurai. She had visibly calmed down and was talking to them in an almost light manner, as if she had forgotten her previous enraged attitude. "In the light of the recent events, I'm going to follow my brother. Yokohama is whole now and I'm not needed anymore."

"Koku intake is going to be cut in half until we regain the production that we have lost." That was going to be hard. Their region was primarily upland and irrigation was hard upon them, even with the abundant field. That meant there were very few lands where rice could grow. Most of their crops were fruits and vegetables and in a land where rice was literally money, a loss such as Yokohama's was hard. "That goes for every samurai in the entire Sagami."

"Sagami is under trial right now. The enemy is closer than both my brother and I realized. Guard your backs well. Get to your duties." The samurai bowed and one by one left her, Nabiki sighed, the first show of weakness since she arrived at the city. "Let us not lose Sagami too soon..."

One of the samurai who had been at the last of the ranks approached her, she smiled at him. "Yes, what is it?" He had approached shyly and given her a bundle wrapped in red furoshiki with imprints of a fan.

"My wife wanted to give your husband a sword, my lady. It was her father's, and since we would never have a son, and she will not fight again, she wanted to give it to you." He bowed as he offered the bundle to her. She looked at the sword indecisively. It was obvious from the vibrant colors that his wife had just made it a day or two ago. The cloth was probably from one of the remaining good cloths they have.

She also knew his wife was lying in her deathbed with a wasting sickness that they knew no cure of. She made it a point to know the samurai in her hans. She could not recall each and every one of their names though and asked softly, "What's your name? And your wife's?"

"Maria and Michael, my lady." Nabiki looked at him thoughtfully. Christian names. It was highly unusual for a samurai to give Christian names, but Happosai had made sure that everybody knew his orders. Michael probably knew she was ordered to be a Christian.

'I probably should re-baptize myself into Buddhism... just to spite the old man.' Nabiki shook her head as she placed her hand on his stooped shoulders. Michael was old, probably near the death bed as well, but he was a loyal samurai and Nabiki regarded all of the samurai under her with respect. "Thank you for the gift, but I'd rather if you offer it directly to Sohin... after all you're giving it to him."

The man nodded and turned to Sohin, Nabiki watched as the man ambled over to her pseudo-fiancé and present him the family heirloom. She watched in morbid curiosity over what Sohin would do with it.

It was rare that swords a few generations old be given away because the most coveted ones are those that tasted blood so often. These swords were heirlooms passed from generation to generation. Since they were so rare, many young samurai were forced to accept newly forged blades. And here was a three-generation katana wasted on a peasant.

She wanted to tell him to take the sword back, or at least, wait for someone worth its blade, but she dared not insult her 'fiancé' nor the man that stood proudly in front of her. In some way, she sent him to Sohin as a test, a test to see how her fiancé would react to such a precious gift. That and because she did not know how to refuse such an honor.

At least no one asked why Sohin did not have a sword. It was widely believed that for a samurai to part with his sword is to lose his honor. But these men were in Saotome territory, and in the whole of Happosai's lands, men were taught that the Saotome fist could do so much more than a single blade. Nabiki rarely carried hers when she expected no fight from samurai outside the Saotome sect. It was a dishonor to have it stolen... but they found nothing wrong with it being left alone. At least, not for long periods of time, and the blade was well taken care off.

Her curiosity was even more piqued when they started walking towards the stables where the horses were kept. Sohin turned to look at her and motioned her to follow them. Outraged that he summoned her as he did, yet interested in what they were going to do, she grudgingly followed. She sighed as she picked up the sack and lifted it with a grunt.

"Come here, he says..." She muttered all the way to the stables where exactly one horse was kept. She stayed at the door where she could watch all of them idly. No one was going to use the horse because Happosai had not given any permission. The solitary horse they kept in each city was used for emergency purposes. Even though there was a scarcity of the animal in Sagami, the stables were always packed with straw... it was an essential part of living.

Currently, a couple of women were sitting on the haystack matting the rice straw together. When this was done, another group of women covered this with a smooth surface of their woven reeds and bound the edges together with cloth tape. They were making the tatami, the final touches to their houses. Although the houses were not nearly finished yet, sections where people could inhabit were already put up. Although they were still months off where Yokohama was before, it was a start.

Nabiki just raised her eyebrows when Sohin and Michael started to gather straw, binding it together with ropes until it became twice as big as she was. Then, Michael stepped back and handed Sohin the sword.

Sohin smiled as he gently unwrapped it. Nabiki noted that he looked exactly like Hanae or Sei when they were opening presents on special occasions. He took the sheath and the sword and fixed it on his belt, his hand resting lightly on the sword hilt. All of a sudden, it dawned on Nabiki what they were doing.

They were testing the sword.

"Oh... damn." Nabiki muttered, as she raised her hand to stop Sohin from striking the haystack, berating herself for not realizing their intent sooner. Just because Sohin was a peasant it did not mean that he did not know he was supposed to test the sword. She just hadn't drawn that conclusion, and she didn't think Sohin would do it in front of an audience.

Usually swords were tested on criminals except murderers, priests, tattooed individuals and eta. When there was a lack of subjects to test the sword upon, what were left were haystacks. Just as what Sohin was trying to do right now.

Between the ten women, most of whom were samurai, and Michael who was a few meters away from Sohin, one of them was bound to realize Sohin had never handled a sword before. 'A sword meant for a samurai, goddamnit!' Nabiki thought. A peasant did not usually engage in **testing** swords. If that didn't put and end to their game, nothing would. "Sohin!"

But it was too late, for he had already gone through the motions swiftly... And she watched as the haystack stood there in a single piece, 'He **missed**. It was right in front of him and he **missed**. I'm doomed.' Nabiki thought as she ran towards them, in a moment she was beside Sohin... "What do you think--"

Sohin sheathed the sword and smiled as he looked at Nabiki then turned to Michael. "Thanks. It's a great sword." And in that instant the straw pile disintegrated.

Nabiki's jaw slacked. She turned towards the straw, which had been whole a few minutes ago. She looked down on herself and found that her clothes were already sticking with the small particles. She had not expected him to be swift. He was probably only slower than Ranma, possibly even faster than herself since she barely saw his sixteen swipes. She would have to check on that.

Usually, swords tested with the haystack were regarded as lesser swords than those who were tested with real bodies, but this was not a new sword. Sohin was just testing it for formality. It told her more about Sohin than about the quality of the blade that was handed down to him. She turned towards Sohin and gave him a glare. "That was an excellent show. I never knew you could do the sixteen stroke test."

The test was preformed with much difficulty. Samurai usually did it with one stroke at a time, but most Saotomes did all of it in the way Sohin had. Some had a great deal of difficulty. Nabiki mastered it at a young age, but for a peasant to do it... it was a remarkable statement of his skill alone. She gave him a guarded look. She had long suspected Sohin was hiding something from her. This feat just made her more suspicious.

"You never asked," he pointed out, giving her a smile, then took the sword from his belt and handed it over to Michael. Nabiki noticed the tsuba, the hilt-guard of the katana, had an extremely intricate design decorated with the engraving of a crab and had several inlays. Both the twins had dragons in theirs. Sohin shook his head and did something Nabiki had not expected. "I can't accept this. It's too good a sword for me."

He had refused a good sword. A sword that was worth a hell of a lot more than every small gift he could sell from now to the day of his last breath. She had known Sohin for only a few days and as a merchant, catalogued him as mercenary. His refusal of the gift made Nabiki think back to what other miscalculations she made of the man.

The samurai smiled at her 'iinazuke' and shook his head. "And I can't take it back because it was never mine in the first place. Please accept it Sohin-san. It's the least we could do for the husband of Lady Saotome, for someone of great skill. You have not tested it against the human flesh yet, my lord."

"Well... okay then, thank you," Sohin answered not even glancing at Nabiki. He took out ivory chopsticks carved intricately with flowers at the thicker side from his belongings and presented it to Michael. "I wouldn't accept such a good gift without something for you to remember me by."

The samurai nodded and accepted. Nabiki watched all of this with mild frustration. She made a mental note to have a long talk with Sohin and then a longer talk with Ifuku after this ordeal.

She watched as Michael walked away then turned to watch as Sohin wrapped the sword slowly with the furoshiki. Yes, she was going to have that long talk.

-

Kuno smiled then looked outside, where one of his men had waited patiently for him. "You. Come here. Prepare our things, we're leaving."

The samurai bowed, then asked, "The destination sir?"

" Kamakura."

* * *

Shampoo was getting bored following the crazy lady circle half of Nerima before she finally stopped in front of the shabbier place of the eta village. It was highly unlikely that one person who was going to literally rob the Saotome household was eta. They were the classless and a classless society does not challenge one higher in ranks. It could mean only two things. It was either this eta was extremely stupid or she wasn't eta at all. 

Shampoo was willing to bet on the latter rather than the former. She had been following this woman for days, and she has not yet seemed to be suspicious of her presence. Shampoo didn't want to return empty handed to her grandmother. Not when this had been her first assignment without the matriarch ever since she had left China.

Her bones ached for a good fight, not the spars that she had with the twins... but a real fight. She'd missed that... this might be her last for a very long time if Cologne continued to train her so far away from civilization. The woman she followed turned her head back and stared at the night, and for a moment, Shampoo thought that she had spotted her, but she continued towards the house slipping into the small shanty as if she owned it.

In a moment, a small light from her lantern lit the small house up and from what the shadows could tell her, the girl was sitting down complacently doing whatever Japanese girls did at that time of the evening.

She was tempted to get up and leave, nothing was happening of importance, and she wondered why her great-grandmother would take an interest on such a boring specimen.

After an hour of staring into the house, Shampoo stretched her coiled muscles, wondering how the girl could sit there staring into nothing at all. Probably one of the idiosyncrasies of Japan? Perhaps a bit of meditative silence that her great-grandmother was trying to teach her. She frowned at the thought, or maybe the woman was on to her --

A branch snapped in the distance and she stood up alertly, moving silently through the night, making sure that she kept to the shadows for cover. A quick glance around revealed no one lurking in the dark, but Shampoo kept her stance ready, a quick peek at the house told her that her prey was still staring at the wall. She was nervous though, something did not feel right. She looked at the moon and calculated how long she'd been looking at the house, and decided she'd best retreat before she was discovered.

She heard a distinct rasp of metal, which she was sure could only be a sword, she tried to whirled around, but an object dug on persistently at her back, "Ah, my dear Shampoo, does your great-grandmother send you to do her dirty work for her now?"

Shampoo's mind whirled, who **was** this woman? She apparently knew them... but she had no recollection of seeing her. Ever. And Shampoo had an impeccable memory. She tried to turn her head, but the sword against her back was firm. "Uh uh, we don't want you to make a scene."

"What am I going to do with you?" The woman sighed loudly, and Shampoo could almost hear the staged effect from her ears. "I can't just send you yelping to your great-grandmother. She is after all... a very formidable foe. It's tragic that I found out about you only now. I could have cut the strings earlier on... but... no matter. Come my dear pussy cat, we need to keep you chained."

After a moment she was splashed with cold water, and she was a cat. It would have proven to be her advantage being small and nimbler but before she had the chance to run, the woman's hands caught her by the neck, and lifted her up, "Now, now, no running my kitty cat, I still have need of you. Your great-grandmother will not know of me. I see my drug is working."

As a cat, Shampoo's eyes were flawless, and she looked at her prey turned hunter. She was beautiful... Shampoo would give her that. Her looks reminded Shampoo of someone she couldn't pinpoint. The eyes... the mouth, the shape of the face, the curve of the cheek... there was something eerily familiar about the girl that she couldn't place. Yet, she was sure that she had never seen this woman before.

"You want to know who I am little cat?" The woman laughed out loud, then brought Shampoo closer to her face, by now, Shampoo was almost paralyzed by whatever drug that had been induced to her through the small blade. Powerful stuff to have affected her so quickly. "I will tell you, but you might not believe me."

Her voice dropped down to the smallest of whispers, an evil glint placed in her eyes, a small smile starting to form on her face, "I am Kuno Kodachi."

If Shampoo had not been sure if Kodachi had been telling the truth the first time, the loud laugh that followed confirmed it. She was at the hands of Kodachi Kuno.

Her eyes widened as much as the drug would let her. If Kodachi Kuno is in the body of this peasant... then who was in Kodachi Kuno's body? It was the last coherent thought of Shampoo before she succumbed to oblivion.

* * *

After the third day of being secluded in the dojo, most of the household was already wondering about Ranma. He did not eat and apparently through the sound of flesh against the dummy, he did not sleep. For three days Ranma Saotome closed himself to the world. It spoke volumes of his anger, for Ranma has never done such a drastic thing before. 

When he summoned for food, one of the younger maids offered to do it, Ifuku tapped her and volunteered for the duty. The girl eagerly complied to do so, no one in the household was thrilled to face Ranma at the moment, and so it had been easy to persuade the young girl.

She tapped lightly on the shoji of the dojo. "Your food, Lord Ranma."

"Come in." the voice was haggard -- and female. She didn't know when Ranma had the chance to turn female, but it was obvious she had been in that state for at least a day... and Lord Ranma never let the opportunity for change pass -- especially if there was no need to be female at the moment.

When she entered she found Ranma staring at something only he could see. His eyes were sunken from lack of sleep and from the three days that he had spent without food. It looked like he lost a bit of weight.

She moved towards him setting the small tray down and bowed. "Would you like hot water for your curse, my lord?" Ifuku asked in the most humble voice she could muster.

It took a while before he -- she answered, as if Ifuku's words only became clear at that moment. Then, she gave a startled looked over herself and finally realized why the woman had asked for the water. "No... I'll manage."

"Yes, my lord." She paused for a moment, not leaving the area where she had initially knelt on. "Is there any thing else you want, my lord?"

"Stop calling me my lord, for one," Ranma quipped. "You're going to let the whole house get suspicious."

"Yes, my lady. I'm so sorry, my lady," when Ifuku was young, it was always ingrained to her that there was no such thing as too much scraping, bowing and flattering when it came to appeasing your lord. "Is there anything else, my lady?"

Realizing that Ifuku has not moved from her prone position, Ranma tapped her shoulder and knelt beside her. She turned up to face Ranma, a bit uncomfortable to be sitting beside her lord. "Were you sent here Ifuku? Are my own vassals afraid of me now?"

"No, my lady," half a lie, but if Ranma noticed, he didn't comment on it. "What if it wasn't me, or Yuka-san? Another servant would learn of your secret then."

"How is Kodachi?" It was the first she's asked of her condition, it proves that he cares, at least, even if it was just a cover.

"Heart sick, my lady," Ifuku answered tentatively, she closed her eyes, waiting for any indication of what Ranma felt -- nothing obvious was forthcoming so she continued, "She hasn't been out of her room much and she's barely talked to anyone. I think you broke her heart." The last comment was not something she planned on saying, especially since she was talking to an employer that could very well order her killed for meddling. Luckily, Ranma wasn't that kind of man.

"She has one?" Ranma shot back readily. Ifuku winced at that comment. This wasn't like any of their fights before. This time, Ranma was the one who started, and Akane was on the verge of giving up... but **why**? "Did **she** send you?"

"No, my lady, I volunteered to go." From all the members of the household, it was Ifuku who was closest to Akane, and it was she who was far more able to defend her if the need arose. But they were talking about their liege lord here. "There has been worry for the both of you."

"Were you here when Nabiki and I had our numerous engagements, Ifuku?" Ranma asked in a low voice, almost a whisper. The past was not something talked about in the house. Why look back when the present contains so many problems and the future still out there to build? "Were you here when I married her?"

"I was, my lady," she practically grew up in Saotome territory. When she started to serve the house of Saotome, she was three and ten. She was older than most, younger than some. She learned from the previous owner of the Twin Dragons, and she continued under Nabiki-sama when the twins had trained in the household under Genma's tutelage.

Children were very hard to find in samurai territory, it was as if they were locked by key to keep away from the world, or they were in some sort of training trip or the other. Nabiki and Ranma were the only children close to her age, and even in the five-year gap, the twins treated her kindly. "My mother always thought my first work would be for Kunos, for she worked there. She has seen Rose Brier change from one hand to the other... but I was Lady Nabiki's maid before I was Lady Kodachi's."

Ranma possessed a short memory span concerning people, even those who were been very close to him. It wasn't a surprise he didn't remember when she started. When he inclined his head in agreement, Ifuku knew he finally recalled. "Nabiki-chan needed a chaperone for her numerous fiancées, and mother picked you because you seemed so out of place with the servants..."

"I was very old when I started to learn, my lady, my training wasn't well. I was a very spoiled child." Ifuku smiled a bit. At least, the twins were very forgiving masters.

"Did your parents die when you were young, Ifuku?" Ranma-chan asked, the meal in front of her forgotten. It was rare for samurai to question a peasant's past after being taken in, and though Nabiki and she had been a bit close before Ranma married -- she had never had more than a pleasant hi from Ranma.

She paused for a moment, as if considering what she was going to say, but finally spoke, "I was taken in by a woman, my lady, the only mother I ever knew. I was too young to remember her face, the face of my real mother, I mean. Sometimes... sometimes," she smiled, it was a sad one. "We regret a lot of things in life, my lady. Not knowing my mother was one of them."

"We never knew our father too." Ranma said. "Then again, we've both been lucky, I had pops -- even though sometimes I wish I hadn't -- and you have your own surrogate mother."

"I suppose." Ifuku sighed again.

"Your husband then. At least you have your husband." Ranma answered.

For a moment Ifuku looked confused then smiled eagerly at Ranma's words. "I forgot that Sohin would meet up with you. Sohin, yes, how is Sohin? I take it he managed to catch up with Lady Nabiki and my lady?"

It took a while for Ranma to say anything about **that** particular topic. She chose her words carefully, wondering how Nabiki would explain the whole mess to the maid. "Yes... he did. You'd better talk to Nabiki about your husband though. I have a feeling that they did not start on the right foot."

"Sohin and Lady Nabiki?" There was a puzzled look in Ifuku's face. "But... Sohin and my lady are...! I should think that they would get along. I mean no offence, but Sohin is a very good man and --"

"I did not mean anything bad in his character, Ifuku." Ranma shook her head as she remembered Nabiki's treatment of the man. "I understand that he's your husband. It's just that... well he and Nabiki don't really see eye to eye on matters."

"Did he do anything terrible?" Ifuku asked curious as to why Nabiki and Sohin would not work well together when... "I'm sorry I sent him, but I thought that it was for the best. I didn't think... I'm very sorry."

"It's okay." Ranma looked outside and noticed that it was considerably darker than when she had finished the kata. "I must be keeping you from your duties, you may go Ifuku."

"Yes, my lady."

Ifuku bowed and started to leave, when Ranma called her out again, "Do you think I've been terrible to my wife, Ifuku?"

Ifuku frowned not knowing what to say. On one hand, this was the most depressed she's seen Akane in months, on the other, this was her lord she was talking to. She opted for the truth. "My lady has done nothing to offend you Lady Ranko. She's been terribly hurt from your deceit... will you not tell her what you have found offending?"

"One last thing, Ifuku," Ranma-chan said ignoring the question the Ifuku had asked, knowing that he could give no sufficient answer, nor was it her right to know. "Tell her I'll fight her tomorrow morning."

Ifuku nodded then left. Her lord was skilled -- even when angry... was it wise to make Lady Akane fight him now that **she** was the sole focus of her lord's anger?

Ifuku stopped tentatively at Akane's door, one hand raised to knock on the shoji, but not quite reaching it, the other holding another tray of food. Akane has been depressed for days, and though she came out of her doors to eat, sleep and fulfill any necessities unlike Ranma, she was like a ghost, making the motions, but not once thinking what she was doing.

Ranma had hurt Akane... and yet, Akane had hurt Ranma just as well. Both had far deeper wounds than they were willing to let on. With Nabiki out of the house, there was no one to mend things, no one to mediate except -- Ifuku --and it wasn't the easiest of jobs when you knew only half of the story.

'Best that I finish this soon...' Ifuku took a deep breath and then tapped the shoji lightly, although she was sure her silhouette had been distinct from the other side of the paper doors. "Lady Akane, I have some food for you."

There was shuffling from the room, and the soft yellow light from one of the lanterns started to flicker from it. Ifuku opened the door as soon as she heard Akane's call.

Akane had not cried, she had been indignant, angry and locked herself up in the room, but she had not broken down to tears. Ifuku took that as a good sign, for at least the girl wasn't near hysterics. A pseudo-smile lit up her face almost immediately as Ifuku entered, Ifuku being the only servant Akane ever sees the past few days.

"How is my lady?" Ifuku asked as she prepared the table, careful not to lay her breath on the food, as she had been taught when she was a child. A small breath on what Akane was going to eat would sully it and she would have to go down and fetch more food. "I trust my lady has been well?"

"I'm fine, really," Akane answered as she sat down from the tatami, facing Ifuku calmly. "I could've eaten downstairs, you know."

"My lady needs a little extra treatment from time to time." Ifuku answered as she handed her the ivory chopsticks, long black ones with roses at the end and Kodachi's name carved intricately amongst its thorns. "This house is too lonely for someone like you, Lady Akane. Perhaps if we take a walk?"

"Maybe tomorrow, Ifuku, I'm not really up for it tonight,"

"I guess so..." Ifuku trailed off then finally thinking that there was no other time to tell Ranma's message, and no other way to tell it she proceeded to inform her, "Lord Ranma has finally set the date of your 'spar', Lady Akane. He wishes for you to be ready tomorrow morning."

Akane stopped eating for a moment, turned to look at Ifuku, then back at her plate. "I thought he'd never ask."

Ifuku looked at Akane worriedly. There were too many factors that engaged this fight that she didn't particularly like. Far too many. There was something about two people angry at each other brawling on the dojo. There would be no limits... no guarantees. Anything Goes. It scared her. "As my lady wishes."

"You can leave now, Ifuku-san."

Ifuku bowed as she left to retire towards her own quarters.

* * *

There was something happening in the Saotome household beyond Kodachi's sudden amnesia that Cologne did not know. Now, Nabiki was asking her to keep the children at their grandmother at Nerima. 

It was a queer request since Nerima was in trouble right now, but she trusted her student's judgment in such matters. There was a specific request not to tell Akane where they were going and if she must know something, only the fact that they were leaving.

Sei's foster mother was to be taken along and Hanae had been assigned a new foster mother that Nabiki had arranged for in Nerima. She was also 'to continue teaching them what she saw fit', for which Nabiki asked for forgiveness.

She was surprised to hear from Nabiki, and even more so to hear the favor that she had been asking. Then again, the twins, aside from her heir, were her favorite students. With Shampoo gone on that errand, she had nothing better to do.

Cologne looked at Nodoka silently, wondering what a woman like her felt whenever situations like this arose because of her children. She really didn't know much about the woman. The twins were not the type to talk about their past. When she had pursued the two at their arrival in Japan and after their training in China, Nodoka was not informed of their arrival because of that seppuku pledge Genma ranted on and on about. Eleven years after she first heard about the ritual suicide, she still knew nothing about the woman who had brought the twins to the world...

"Thank you for bringing my grandchildren over, Matriarch Cologne." Not having the same grasp of Chinese as her two children, Nodoka still manages to fuse her name together. "I hope the trip was not tiring."

"No, no, the children were very cooperative." Cologne answered, being as old as she was, Cologne tended to know how to deal with nasty situations dealing with nasty children... not that Hanae and Sei gave her any trouble. They were much more... sedate than the twins had been in their youth.

Nodoka led the elderly matriarch towards the backyard where Sei and Hanae were talking on the steps, their transfer from Rose Brier to Nerima unquestioned.

Without their two main teachers -- namely, Ranma and Nabiki -- Hanae and Sei were left to their own devices, something rare with the barrage of lessons imposed upon them daily. That was going to change now that Cologne was given a free rein on the lessons.

Today though, both were sitting on the steps of the newly polished dojo and sipping some tea Sei's foster mother made for them, watching the small koi after taking a breather from running from Rose Brier to Nerima. Cologne was as much a taskmaster as their parents.

"You're busy these days aren't you?" Sei asked as he looked at Hanae's tired expression. "I've barely seen you the past months other than our sessions together."

Hanae made a face as she took a sip from the tea and set it down on the tray, "'nt Nabiki has asked me to find out about Aunt Akane's 'illness'." Sei made a face when he heard the name Hanae had used to refer to their aunt. "Yes, I've missed you too, Sei. What do you say we pick some shells by the sea?"

Sei's eyes lighted up for a moment, but it went out just as quickly. He was the more cautious of the two and the more practical in matters. "I don't think so. Last time, I heard you practically drowned. No one has tried to get you near the waters... and that was a year ago."

"Well the water was choppy!" Hanae pouted as she brought up her knees towards her chin and hugged it, thankful that she had chosen one of the hakama they trained in for the day. "Have you mastered that last move father taught us?"

"It's okay I guess, not perfect, but well enough."

Hanae clapped her hands gaily. "Show me Sei-san! Come on, I wanna see how it's performed. Mine seems too wobbly and stiff."

"How about you show it to me? I'll just correct your form from time to time..." Sei suggested, not too eager to stand from his comfortable position on the steps just to show his cousin something that she could do well on her own.

Jumping up from her position by the steps, Hanae landed gracefully upon the soft earth in front of the dojo. Sei just raised an eyebrow at her performance. "Well the least you could do is tell me how well I executed my jump." Hanae said pretending to be hurt from her cousin's lack of expression.

"It was perfect, Hanae." Sei answered in a dull monotone that bordered on boredom. But although he showed disinterest, Hanae knew that he did mean what he was saying. "As always. Now show me the move."

Bowing to her cousin, Hanae complied, moving with the swift kicks and spins that her father had gone over with her the last time he was able to teach. She executed the moves gracefully, but Sei found that she lacked some of the precision and balance that should go along with it.

She danced but she missed the rhythm.

Cologne frowned and found that she needed to correct that, but Nodoka smiled at the children's antics. "They are having fun, are they not? What I would not give to be as carefree as they are now. Youth and its ignorance --"

"Sometimes they see more than what we 'wisened old ones' do." Cologne chuckled as she turned to see Nodoka. Maybe she was more alike to Nodoka than she would admit.

She had been forced to give up her children at a young age, learned to deal with life suddenly and fate had dealt with her roughly. 'Whatever reasons Nabiki had for leaving the children here, it would do Nodoka good.'

She watched the woman smile at the children wistfully. Yes, the children would do Nodoka good.

* * *

Nabiki arrived at Kamakura early that morning. She ran the entire length of the Tokkai but they still managed to extend the three day trip to four because of the numerous gifts they were forced to bring. Leaving them was unacceptable, and might have been viewed as an insult. 

Sohin was none the worse for wear and she was a bit irritated by that fact. He was slower than she was while they had been running, but he had his brute strength to compensate... the man carried all their 'gifts' the entire trip. She frowned at the thought for she had seen his true speed when he had tested the newly acquired sword. Sohin concealed his skills well.

She nimbly dropped down the upper branches of the tree as a gymnast would with double bars. Sohin raised his eyebrow at her presentation, she merely smiled.

At least she'd be getting rid of Sohin now, and the whole fiancé business would be over. A fake wedding for Kuno could be arranged, after all she was in the 'false identity' business herself. It would just require a lot of forged documents. Then again -- why forge the documents when she could just steal the old man's hanko stamp. That'd be as good as any signature...

"Rose Brier is up on that cliff --" Nabiki pointed towards the beach where Rose Brier obscured by the tall trees in the path.

Sohin smirked again, and in a tone that said he didn't like to be treated like an idiot. "I know. Ifuku happens to be there."

"I can't believe your Ifuku-san tolerates your loud mouth, Sohin-san." Nabiki quipped as she leaned against one of the trees, flipping a small stone that she acquired along the way.

Sohin just stared at her with an amused expression in his face, as if he knew what she was going to say, and what her intentions were. It was already unnerving to have him pretend to be her fiancé, Kami-sama knows she has enough of those already, but it was another thing entirely when he started taking the damned part seriously.

"I believe she just has more patience than my l--" Whatever he was going to say was stopped by the small rock that hit his head, from the way Nabiki was holding out her hand and the light scowl across her face, there was no question about **where** the rock had come from.

"Don't insult me Sohin-san," She wiped her hands from the dirt and then continued walking. "You're about to realize I don't like to get insulted."

He rubbed his head where the pebble had struck and scowled at her. He had not been about to say anything that would jeopardize their little 'play', but she was edgy. "If my fiancée gets manners maybe I'd think about shutting my loud mouth."

"Now I realize why Ranma and you get along so well." Nabiki gave him a meaningful stare and walked towards Kamakura's larger streets. Kamakura was just like any normal city with its checkpoints, but the seki that barricaded the way let her pass without qualm, after all she **was** Nabiki Saotome.

The streets were busy even in the morning, and a lot of people were already busy milling about, most of the servants already going out to buy some fresh fish by the sea, some buying seasoning. Nabiki smelled in the salty air... Kamakura always smelled of salt water and fish in the morning.

She missed that in Yokohama, since Yokohama was mainly an agricultural city, with just enough fishermen to keep the city well fed. The local people bowed their heads when they saw her. She gave all of them a warm smile and a small bow when she could. Most of the people here knew her by name already. She made it a point to know the locale she was governing, and the best place to start was with the people.

She noticed the last girl she walked past stared at her then whispered excitedly towards her friend. By the fifth person, she was already curious what exactly they found so amusing. She stopped walking, she was sure it was not the clothes... she and her brother have been walking pass the city for fourteen years wearing them. She had no dirt on her face, or the guards at the checkpoint would have told her, and the villagers were already used to her walk by without a sunscreen or an umbrella.

Finally, she sighed and bluntly asked the next person that happened to do so, "What's funny?" She didn't mean it to come out so harshly and the girl shied away a bit, fanning herself lightly. "That didn't come out right, really. I just want to know what everybody seems to be amused at."

The girl, not wanting to disappoint her mistress bowed, bringing her fan closer to her face. "Lady Saotome, congratulations on your betrothal." She bowed again.

Nabiki's hand flew up to the only outward indication of her supposed betrothal and frowned. 'The **comb**! I thought I took it off!' She smiled weakly at the girl. "No... you're mistaken... I'm not --"

"Prepared to tell the whole city... yet." Sohin quickly interrupted as he took the comb out of her hair, and placed it on her hand. He had not set the bag down and the girl was looking at him rather oddly.

"Sohin!" Nabiki bit out whirling around to face him, she continued in a harsh whisper, " Kamakura is quite different from Yokohama! Someone is **bound** to notice that you're Ifuku's husband here. Kamakura is not as large a city as you think!"

He shrugged then turned around as if he had not heard her, calling out, "Hey, Lord Kuno, I didn't know you were due for Kamakura at this time. I thought you had a wedding to plan?"

"Are you **crazy**?" Nabiki reprimanded, the girl she had interrogated forgotten, her mind all set on the irritations of life now. "We left Kuno four days ago."

"Tell that to **him**." Sohin inclined his head towards Nabiki's back, not too much to be obvious, but enough for Nabiki to note the direction which he was apparently pointing.

Nabiki whirled around to face Kuno, flanked by two other samurai of his house. She changed her irritated frown to a forced smile. "My, Lord Kuno, meeting like this gets really old, really fast," he was far enough not to see, but close enough to hear whatever she was saying, especially if he employed a spy somewhere.

"Ahhh... Lady Nabiki, it seems your fiancé has a sharp ear." Quick eyes, nice reflexes, good timing. Nabiki wondered what exactly her fiancé **didn't** have. **Nobody** was supposed to be better than Nabiki Saotome, especially not in martial arts.

The day was starting to turn uglier by the minute. She did not expect Kuno to follow her to Rose Brier. Although in retrospect, it was a logical conclusion. Rose Brier was closest to Kuno's land than Yokohama. He has not seen his pigtailed girl yet... and if there was one thing Kuno was known for -- it was blind persistence.

She was displeased. Kuno sneaking up to her **this** long without her noticing was something she wouldn't live down. It was also quite possible he took another route and just converged at Kamakura... he was carrying more men than she was, and while Sohin could adapt to the trees like she did, most of Kuno's men didn't. "One of the things I merit in him, Lord Kuno."

"Yes, your fiancé is every bit worthy of your intellect, Lady Saotome." Kuno complimented Sohin. Sohin gave a small nod in acquiescence. For someone who ranked nothing at all, Sohin knew enough to pretend nobility. Nabiki sensed an education, although how he could have acquired one was still a mystery to her. "And my Lady Saotome seems to be worthy enough of his skill."

A small cough escaped Nabiki's throat. **That** had to be the worst blow to her pride yet. She smiled through her teeth. For a **Saotome** to be decreed worthy by **Kuno** for a **peasant's** skill. If Ranma heard the compliment, she would have killed Kuno. "Sohin-san has enough skills in his own rights."

"He seems to be a man of little words, ne?" Nabiki could only wish **that** was true. Kuno looked at Sohin over then shrugged. "And your last name, Sohin-san? Something so that I would engrave it in the wedding present of Lady Saotome?"

Right then Nabiki panicked, peasants have no last names. The possessed no lineage so they could not trace it. A man without a past... damn it. They could not simply invent one out of the blue without arousing anymore suspicion, and she could **not** admit that he was a peasant, of all things. Kuno was going to laugh at her for the rest of his miserable life -- and if there was one thing Nabiki kept close, it was her pride.

"Tendo. My last name is Tendo, Lord Kuno." Sohin bowed in introduction. At that moment when Sohin acknowledged Kuno, he stood straighter, his chin lifted, Nabiki could almost feel the confidence exuding from him. All his manners that screamed peasant was lost. It was as if he suddenly became the samurai he was pretending to be. "I am not of direct lineage... so I'm far from home."

Kuno nodded again, Nabiki tried her best not to slack her jaw open. It was either Sohin was being unimaginative, just had no other name to say, or maybe he was just being a total **bastard** that he would choose the name which she did **not** want to bring attention to themselves at the moment. She promised herself he was getting it after this whole stunt he pulled. Tendo.

"I think you should retire to an inn, Lord Kuno." Nabiki suggested, with just a hint of threat in her voice. She signaled for one of the servants, easily identified because they only wore their loincloths, milling about the market. "Escort Lord Kuno to the Dragon's Chambers, tell them it's under my orders." Dragon's Chambers was the best in the vicinity and their vassal who owned the place would not make Kuno feel unwelcome.

She pressed some coins on his palms. "Tell your master that I borrowed you and I would pay for the time that I am taking you away from your duties." She signaled for another servant to take the load off Sohin's shoulders to be delivered at Rose Brier.

Kuno looked at all of this with mild amusement. "Trying to get rid of me Lady Saotome?" It was a rare moment of intelligence in Kuno's part, a rare moment where he actually used his head and said something true.

"Merely looking out for your welfare, Lord Kuno," Nabiki answered then bowed towards him in her humblest gestures. She did not want him to think that she really was trying to get rid of him. "I must tell my brother I am home."

Kuno waved his hand, and then he followed the servant Nabiki paid. Nabiki watched him go then turned to look at Sohin. She picked him by the sleeve and began dragging him towards the path that led to the archways towards Rose Brier.

"You **never** learn do you?" Nabiki asked in frustration as she walked towards the steps, finally showing all the anger she had hidden when Kuno was present. "Of all damned names in the world, did you have to pick Tendo? If word gets around what do you think the real Tendo Clan would do to your scrawny hide?"

Sohin stared at her without answering, Nabiki shook her head. "Oh sure, the Tendos are a small house, and sure their damned liege lord is a Lady Chisei that I've never heard before, but don't bet your life that we can get out of this fix easily."

He didn't speak, it was highly unusual. Normally, when she started ranting, he had this irritating habit of arguing the technicalities at her. She was getting no such thing right now. She spared him a glance, and was satisfied when she found a deep frown on his face. "Thinking about the consequences of your loud mouth?"

For a while he didn't answer... then he looked straight at her. "Actually, thinking about the consequences of **your** loud mouth. We aren't exactly in a secluded place, Lady Nabiki."

Nabiki turned to look at the three or four people who stopped to look at the odd picture she was making. She glared at them, she was their goddamned liege. It was rude to stare. "Don't pay attention to us, we're fighting." All of them stopped to look at each other then continued on their respective tasks.

"Never mind **them,**" Nabiki whispered as she dragged him up the one hundred or so steps that led to the arches of Rose Brier. "Worry about what **I'm** going to do to you. Pray that Ifuku is good at bailing you out, Sohin-san."

* * *

Ifuku trailed behind Akane, she picked a small white gi that they had found around the house and fit her snugly. It was probably one of Kodachi's older ones, when she was actively training in the art, something that the mistress had kept out of sentimentality. Then again, Ifuku still had a hard time picturing Kodachi as anything but the cynic that she was. But... her mother always said cynics were sentimentalists at heart. 

Ranma, he chose not to return to her true form, was already waiting by the koi pond. It seemed like he was tossing a small pebble into the water, startling the poor fish in to jumping up.

"Lord Ranma, may I present the Lady Akane," she introduced Akane less formally than she would have a new challenger but more formally than what a household challenge merited. It looked serious, but duels of honor usually were. This was something more than a duel of honor. It was for Hanae, and Hanae meant more than any honor debt.

Ranma-chan didn't look up from the pond, and Ifuku sensed that Akane was getting irritated by this. When Akane's patience had already stretched to its limit, Ranma-chan, as if she had sensed it, and maybe she **had**, stood up to face her. Ranma's eyes bore an aura of seriousness that told Ifuku this wasn't something like their daily spar.

Akane possessed some skills, but she was dormant for the past months. Ifuku was not sure whether she could rough it out. Their daily 'training' was cut short three days before the fight. Even then, Ifuku wasn't so sure if Akane could take Ranma.

At least she wouldn't be severely damaged. Ifuku didn't think that Ranma would out and out kill Akane. There were some things that he didn't do. Killing his wife was one of them.

Ranma squared his shoulders and adopted an easy stance that looked to the world like he let his guard down. It told Ifuku that he was more than ready for an attack at any moment. "I see you took me up on my offer."

"Let's get this over with." Akane answered, then eyed him -- her wearily. "Aren't we going in the dojo?"

"You want to train Hanae in martial arts?" Ranma asked, although it didn't need an answer, he already knew what she wanted. "Then we fight where I choose, I stay here. Anything Goes Martial Arts literally means anything goes. If you can't train Hanae out here, then you can't train her at all."

"Fine." Akane answered as she started the offensive, knowing that any preamble was useless. Based from her fight with Nabiki, the twins didn't go offensive until the last moment. That was what she should watch out for, because it was when he would deliver the last blow.

She was right, Ranma danced around her in an almost dizzying pattern whenever she tried to hit the girl. If she thought Nabiki was fast, Ranma was twice her speed in girl-form. The distinct difference between was that: although Nabiki threw a few blows in between -- Ranma-chan did not even try to land a blow against her.

For some reason, that angered her even more, she tried to deliver several more punches and kicks. She tried everything that she had been taught, but everything simply missed. It was like punching water.

Ifuku winced as Akane almost fell forward at the extra power she had put in that last punch. At least she wasn't going about a pattern. That was good. It was all this anger that was making her place unnecessary force behind her blows.

Ranma was giving Akane far more time than he normally would, and from what Ifuku could see, it was going to be a fight in endurance. Ranma didn't seem to have any inclination of trying to hit Akane and Akane was simply missing. If that was the case, then Akane was going to lose. She was tired, and possessed less than the average training. She would not last long.

Akane broke away from Ranma-chan her hands positioned in front of her in one of those basic karate stances that she learned from her father, altered just so, bringing out its advantage and stripping some of its weakness by joining it with another defensive stance. From the look of recognition on Ranma's face, Ifuku was guessing this was from Anything Goes Martial Arts as well.

'Don't get clumsy, Lady Akane.' Ifuku thought as she watched the fight carefully. Akane was winded but was more or less fit for keeping up for a few more seconds. The only remote possibility of Akane winning was by trying a special move.

Ifuku took her eyes off the fight when someone sighed behind her. She found Nabiki looking at the fight with a frown on her face. "He just couldn't wait can he?" Nabiki sighed as Akane started the attack again, with Ranma doing all the dodging. Akane was getting frustrated. There was no progress to the fight other than Akane getting breathless. From what Ranma was showing, Ifuku wagered she could continue fighting the whole day, and it was obvious Akane couldn't.

-

Akane knew of only one special move in her entire life, and if it was the only thing that would give her a good hit she was willing to risk it. She was content to land even one blow against Ranma's body. It was obvious that she wasn't going to win. It was a fight she was never meant to win.

'But I need to get closer to him, damnit,' Akane thought as she punched towards his shoulder, she missed, that wasn't unusual. 'The only way to go about this is close combat, and he's keeping his distance.'

The proximity wasn't Akane's only problem however. Ranma was moving faster than she could deck out punches. In fact, he was moving so fast that he seemed to blur entirely out of place, only to reappear at a different angle. If she was truthful, she knew that this fight should have been over a **long** time ago.

She has only one shot in making him stay still for at least one second to make her attack employ damage. From what she knew about his improvision, she knew she could only hit him by taking him by surprise. Nothing would work twice. 'But how to keep him still?' "You're not taking me seriously."

"I am." Ranma-chan answered, it was the first time she had spoken in the fight, and it was unusual. Ranma liked conversations -- or taunts -- in sparring matches. He wasn't normally a fan of silence.

"Then stay still!" She had managed to summon her mallet again, it would be useless in a fight like this. A weapon like that would only hinder her with a person who dodges **punches** much less the slower mallet.

She threw the mallet out, he evaded, in that single move where she managed to predict where he was going to dodge, she had tried to put everything in one final blow as she tried to ram her body against the red head's. "YAMA ARASHI!"

-

Nabiki's eyes narrowed down to slits as she watched Akane run towards Ranma in a sacrifice blow. "Mountain Storm? Did you know of this Ifuku?" her eyes never left Akane as she moved towards Ranma... and missed falling down to the koi pond instead, gurgling out of the three feet water.

"No, my lady, she did not mention it to me." Nabiki waved her hand, signaling that she may go towards her mistress, and Ifuku ran towards Akane, who by now, was coughing out water as soon as she swallowed it and was being fished out by Ranma.

When Ranma finally snagged her kimono, she lifted her up from the pond and promptly deposited her to the ground. "Escort her to her room."

"That really wasn't so bad." Nabiki said as she clapped slowly taunting Ranma. "That big explosion I was expecting from you didn't happen, at least nothing worse than before. Getting soft in your old age, Ranma?"

"I had three days to think about it." Ranma quipped straightening himself from the crouched position. "I don't do husband beating very well. You're early."

Ranma never did anything that was against his principles. She has never even seen him hold a grudge. Extremely angry, yes, but not for long periods of time, and never after a sincere apology has been offered.

"You don't like it?" Nabiki had the habit of using Ranma's words against him. She gave him a small smile. "She was better than the last time I saw her fight. Ifuku must have been good for her."

"It looks like she knows a lot of Anything Goes. Most of what she knew was advanced material, although modified to take out the kill in some areas. She has a low-level grasp of aerial combat though. She tried to compensate by keeping me locked to the ground. Looks like, she didn't train for that one. Most of her moves were based on brute strength, something that she has a lot of. She's slower than the children, definitely. Can be taken out easily but could probably handle her own in a non-fatal challenge. The chi potential is there, though it's untapped."

Ranma shook her head, moving towards the house wanting some of that hot water she has not touched in days. "The martial arts was an unconscious thing, so I know she's been training on this particular style for a long time. She didn't pick it up out of the blue, someone trained her."

"Her father then?"

"But she claims Tendo School of Anything Goes, not Kuno. Her brother doesn't seem to know anything from the school either. A new branch that Happosai has forgotten to tell us? It would not be unusual, Happosai easily forgets students he's trained because he's taken a liking to them. What about that real Akane Tendo?" Ranma asked. It was possible. Happosai was an extremely forgetful man. But one thing nagged her. "At least she was... good."

"I'll admit she isn't the best, but she does seem to know what she's doing." Nabiki frowned. Mediocre, yes, but a lot of potential waiting to be tapped if that last offence meant anything. "She would have been a fine student if we got our hands on her when she was five."

"We would have been ten when she was five. I doubt we could have trained her," Ranma pointed out and Nabiki scowled at her. "Her last attack surprised me. She has chi potential, but cannot tap it consciously. It was almost as if she needs to physically pull it out."

"That puts her just a little bit above some of the low bred samurai, Ranma-kun." Nabiki pointed out as she leaned against the shoji watching her ask Yuka-san for what she needed. "Still, she **is** a practitioner of Anything Goes, and Happosai absolutely **hates** strays."

Ranma sighed as she waited for Yuka to boil it. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"It depends." Nabiki smiled as she tilted her head to one side as she watched Ranma-chan. She looked like she had finished a long run, but was not breathing heavily. "What are you thinking?"

"Sei and Hanae will be inaugurated to the Clan next month..." She trailed off.

It **was** an option, and something she thought about, but it wasn't one of their better ones. Happosai would demand answers and when they gave him none... damn. "I wonder exactly if she's young enough to be inaugurated."

"She better be." Ranma quipped.

In all truths, the being a Saotome and a samurai were birthrights that didn't need to be proven, but Happosai reveled in taking them in **only** when they have become the best. He said that birthright is an excuse to be lazy and so arranged all the ceremonies. "She's going to be proclaimed a Saotome Samurai when the children are going to get their surnames legally. I can't believe we're going to do this."

Nabiki's eyes glinted in mischievousness. "I'm not sewing the family crest on black silk for her, Ranma." Ranma didn't get it at first, so she tried a different track, "How's your sewing skills?"

He paused for a minute as he looked at her, wondering what the hell she was talking about when she pointed at his shirt, and remembered it was usually the mother's task to do so... and since Kodachi had no one... "Damn."

* * *

It was mid-afternoon when Akane woke up. She didn't rise from the futon as her eyes adjusted from the near blackness to the soft ray of the setting sun. She couldn't even remember what her last coherent thought was. 

There were only feelings. Anger, resentment, agitation. There was nothing else, and in the dim room, she also acknowledged that she was hurt... 'And you only hurt when you're in love.' As the events reconstructed in her mind, she sighed, not even a final hit. Not a single hit had connected. Ranma was as good as everybody gave him credit for, and he did not even use a tenth of that power to fight her. She was a child in comparison.

She tried to sit up, and her muscles screamed in protest. Kodachi's body was not used to the early morning calisthenics but was gradually been broken in. Apparently, she was also not used to Ranma's fast pace.

Her muscles were sore, not because of bruises he inflicted, for he did not touch her. Not a single time in the whole fight did he attempt to touch her. He dodged and jumped, but he never tried to be on the offense. Every small movement shot pain up her body and she sighed when she was finally in an upright position.

At least she was sure she wasn't dead, yet.

Ifuku, who was waiting at the shadows for her to wake up, was immediately by her side offering a hand for help. She offered everything, a meal, a bath, clothes... she declined them all.

The shoji slid open, the almost silent whisper when it moved told her it was either Ranma or Nabiki. It was Nabiki-kun, in his male form wearing the red Chinese clothes he favored, he nodded towards Ifuku, and she left them.

Akane watched her go, not having enough strength despite her half day sleep to call her back in. "Come here to gloat?"

"I have nothing to gloat about," he declared, sitting beside her, deciding that it would not do to play with the emotions of an already broken woman. "I'm not Ranma."

"Stop playing with me. This isn't funny," Akane spat out, as she turned towards him violently, her muscles protesting all the way. "This isn't some game where you can just go up and leave, this is me we're talking about. You. Us."

"As I said, I'm not Ranma," Nabiki repeated, she didn't really need Akane's belief. "But I'm not here to talk about that. We all make mistakes, Akane-san. Some people are prone to it more than others. You're going to need to take this to heart."

An old scroll was handed to her. Embossed in it was what she now recognized as the twin's crest on the top, two dragons entwined to form a circle that closely resembled the yin-yang. At the bottom of the page, Happosai's Lotus and Eye symbol was stamped in red ink.

"It's the oath. You're going to be pledged in as a Saotome."

She looked at it bewildered, then to Nabiki she protested, "But I'm already a Saotome."

"You aren't a Saotome Samurai, not until you fight in Happosai's little tournament and he approves." Nabiki shook her head. "My brother believes that you will make it. He seems to believe in your skills." Not that Nabiki doesn't, she just wanted to intimidate the girl a little.

"Your brother?" Again there was confusion. "Ranma? But I thought only he and Nabiki... Impossible."

At least Happosai couldn't blame Nabiki on this one. This was going to be put down on 'Ranma's little error' tally book. "I take it my brother didn't explain Jusenkyo. What did he do, dump the water on his head and smiled?"

From what Akane's reaction was, she understood that her guess was close. "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever left, though improbable, must be true. Then if I'm not Ranma, I'm Ranma's twin and twins are, by definition, only two people, who am I?"

"Nabiki," Akane whispered disbelievingly, lifting her hand to Nabiki's face, as if trying to assure herself that the image before her was real and not an illusion. Nabiki- evaded the hand.

"Give the woman a prize. The woman can learn," Nabiki mocked, almost as if talking to a child. Nabiki gave her a pat on the head then stood up. "Why he's giving you a chance, I would not know. I have always said... Never mind."

She stared at Akane before going. "If you're going to be Saotome Samurai, then I am going to be forced to be civil to you." From the way she said it, Akane was sure Nabiki didn't particularly like the concept.

She would learn that Nabiki was brutally honest, if not agonizingly sarcastic. "I've never trusted you, Kodachi. Now that you've shown you know Indiscriminate Grappling, I am forced to give you some, regardless of my dislike. Earn our trust, Kodachi and we might just give you some."

Akane opened her voice to speak but nothing came out.

With those final words, Nabiki disappeared just as suddenly as she came.

-

At the door, Nabiki-kun motioned for Ifuku to follow her outside. Content that they were out of Akane's hearing range, Nabiki turned to Ifuku. Clasping the woman's shoulder with one hand Nabiki-kun took out the comb he had been wearing the past week and showed it to Ifuku. "Do you recognize this, Ifuku?"

Ifuku took the comb with her hands. She thumbed the exterior varnish of the wooden comb and the small carvings on its bended side. She rubbed her thumb against the simple design then handed the comb back to Nabiki carefully. "Yes. It's Sohin's betrothal comb."

Nabiki nodded at the comb, then dismissing Ifuku's answer she handed the comb back to the maid. "Isn't this yours? You should keep it. I just kept it on loan." The woman shook her head as she stared at the ornament at Nabiki-kun's hands.

"No, my lord." Ifuku protested backing away from Nabiki's intimidating stare. "Sohin has given it to you, and it is he who must take it from you. It's not mine to take."

Nabiki shook her head at the pride Ifuku was showing. Not understanding her refusal towards what was hers to begin with. "But the comb is yours."

"Not until he gives it to me." Ifuku protested, and although she could not turn her back on Nabiki, he could see the determination in Ifuku's eyes. "It is yours until you give it back to him, my lord."

Nodding, Nabiki kept the comb in the pocket of her Chinese pants. "I find your husband extremely insubordinate, Ifuku. Where has he learned such manners?" She demanded, wanting to know the answers that she made up her mind to ask.

"He grew up harshly, my lord." Ifuku answered, although the question made her visibly uncomfortable. "Sohin had a rough time learning how to live. How to be. His defiance comes from a long history of abusive overseers and his courage comes from his need to protect."

Frowning, Nabiki let go of the woman's shoulders. "To protect whom?"

"His family. His friends." Ifuku shook her head, as she trailed off, unsure at the point that Nabiki had wanted her to prove. Although Nabiki made it a point to know everything that went on within the household, she rarely voiced it out in the open.

"You." Nabiki ended, but whether Ifuku agreed or not, the maid did not voice her opinion. Ifuku's lack of response towards the word troubled Nabiki, because she was sure that she should have elicited **some** response from the girl.

"You must not take these traits against him, my lord." Ifuku continued in a pleading tone, as if Nabiki-kun had the power to break the bonds that held the two of them together by not wanting the union. "It was brought about by time and environment. There is little time to trust what he cannot understand. For him, there has been nothing to trust at all."

Curiosity made Nabiki want to learn more about the two of them. Maybe it was because it took a long time for her to learn about this particular union, or because of the fact that they tried to hide it in the first place. "How did you come to know him, Ifuku?"

"I met him at a garden, my lord. He recently stole apples from my mother." She closed her eyes at the long forgotten memory. "I threw him the apples he attempted to steal."

"Did you love him then?" Nabiki-kun asked softly.

Opening her eyes, the memory shattered, Ifuku gazed at Nabiki-kun with such sadness that Nabiki could not comprehend. "I have loved him since forever, my lord, and I will love him for another eternity."

Nabiki could not understand how a strong feeling of love could evoke an equally strong feeling of remorse. Especially with two people who seemed to have the simplest of lives that she could only dream of. "Why?"

"Because of who he is." Ifuku whispered, and then shrugged. Nabiki-kun could almost feel the sadness that laced the words she spoke of. "Because of who I am. Because of what we did--"

Nabiki nodded, cutting the girl off. She didn't want to hear any more of what she was saying. "You may go, Ifuku."

The maid bowed and disappeared inside Akane's room. Nabiki could only stare at the door, long after she closed it. Sighing she moved away from Kodachi's room towards her own.

Nabiki rounded the corner only to bump into her twin. He raised an eyebrow at him. He already changed and was wearing a new set of Chinese clothes. From the looks of it, he was waiting for Nabiki-kun.

"You know, pacing around isn't going to help our problem any." Nabiki quipped as she threw Ranma a bundle that she picked up when he left Akane's room. It held the cloth was going to be used for the ceremonial garb. "Now all you have to do is learn how to sew and how to fast talk Happosai out of punishing you and we're all set."

"You don't like her much do you?" Ranma answered as he opened the package gingerly, unfurling the smooth black silk that was hidden in it. More than enough for one shirt, at least there was some room for error.

Nabiki snorted as she folded her arms across her chest looking at Ranma wearily. "If I recall, the whole reason we're in this mess in the first place is that **you** don't like her either." Nabiki pointed out.

Shrugging, Ranma swiftly folded the material again. "Hey, at least I try to be nice from time to time." Then, before Nabiki could answer him, he was gone. Nabiki narrowed her eyes at him. He was using the Forbidden Techniques again. She was going to strangle him when this was all over. She almost sighed... that was the eighth time that day she made the promise.

"Coward." At least she wasn't the one who was going to sew this time. "You'll need this!" She held up a needle and a roll of black thread in the air in a manner that was clearly taunting.

In a split second, the thread and needle both disappeared. Nabiki shook her head. Saotome women were trained before hand of their duties when time came. Of ceremonies, of social status, of what to do.

The ceremonial garb was more than a piece of black cloth with fancy needlework, it was something that showed how a mother loved her child, because after the sword was given, their meetings would be rare, if not never again.

It was the tangible link between mother and child and the symbolism that the child will always be loved. It was the reason why Nabiki couldn't bring herself to do Kodachi's. Maybe Kodachi didn't know what that cloth meant, but Nabiki did, and she would never be able to give that to **her**.

"Ranma!" Nabiki called out, "I know you can hear me. You have to talk to your wife. Happosai's little test isn't **easy**, you know."

"Is that... **worry** in your voice Lady Nabiki?" Ranma asked from the shadows he had disappeared to. Nabiki didn't even try to pinpoint his location. His mastery of the Umisenken is unparalleled, even with the Umisenken's own creator. "Why thank you, but I believe the Lady Saotome can do well with this challenge."

Nabiki didn't say anything for a while, letting Ranma think what he wanted. Let him do what he want, but he cannot just leave Kodachi memorizing the oath without any preparation for what Happosai has in store for her.

"I'm just thinking what Happosai is going to say when he finds out that his best hatamoto was bested by his worst vassal." It was ironic really, Ranma really wasn't bested... he had just been a bit impressed. Her words worked against her. It still stung her pride to know about Sohin sneaking up to her. No one would ever find out, but **she** knew, and that was all that mattered.

* * *

Nabiki left Sohin at the gates of Rose Brier, with her explicit instructions not to come in when they had reached its arches. Only when the fight between Ranma and Akane stopped and the night had deepened, had she allowed Ifuku to go and fetch him. 

Food was sent. He was not overly hungry, but he was tired and he needed a bath. Her proclamation of engagement to the whole household was a surprise, but she took pains to **try** to explain it to Ifuku. Ifuku was mildly amused, but had not understood because Nabiki kept running up into walls.

Finally, Nabiki decided to let Sohin explain and told the woman to ask her husband about it. Because of their supposed engagement, and Nabiki's embarrassment at borrowing Sohin, she permitted Ifuku to leave for the night, lending Kodachi her own maid. All trysts between the two were forgiven with a minor scolding that she should be informed of marriages and such things in the future.

Still, she gave a suspicious look at Ifuku before she the maid go. Although she could trust her life with Ifuku, she didn't know if Sohin could buy Ifuku's loyalties.

Ifuku excused herself early from her chores, the household almost normal again. With Nabiki around to talk to Ranma and Akane, they could almost pretend that everything was fine.

There was nothing to do at the house, and she would only hamper the sewing that the twins were doing and whatever preparation Akane had needed for the inauguration. The reason why Ranma was still angry at Akane was unknown and she did not ask, fearing that it was a sore spot.

When she stepped out of the house, it was already evening and the air was cool. She brought a small shawl of sorts to place around her shoulders for protection against the cold winds.

As Nabiki said, Sohin was waiting by the gates, and rather impatiently because he was alone longer than necessary, but his face lit up immediately when he saw Ifuku walk up to him.

When she herself spotted Sohin, Ifuku ran up to him and hugged him. "Have you been well, Sohin? The boy... how is the boy? What is this I hear about you and Lady Nabiki not getting along?"

Sohin chuckled as he disentangled himself from her fierce hug. "Let's walk by the shore, Ifuku. Will you be missed?"

She shook her head, her duties done for the day, Akane already expected her gone, and Nabiki knew where she was. As they neared the water's edge Ifuku bent her head low. "Lady Nabiki has your marital comb, Sohin. Is there something you wish to tell me? Has our secret been passed on to another ear?"

Sohin laughed at her, Ifuku merely looked at him with a small frown. "This isn't a joke, Sohin. I told you to find Lady Nabiki because I thought you would be the best to tell her what she needs to know. Not offer her a betrothal!"

"You sound just like my mother, Ifuku-chan." Sohin smiled as he offered his hand to her, something that he had always gallantly offered when they were together. "Trust me." Words that he always told her when she doubted his intentions, and she always gave her trust to him willingly.

She shook her head at his words, not letting the issue drop because of the person who brought it up to her. "Do not jest with me, Sohin. I don't think I can take such a joke from you. Lady Nabiki asked me questions of you, of us. What did you tell her?"

Sohin frowned at the way Ifuku glared at him. As usual, he tried to divert her attention before she peered into something that he wasn't ready to answer yet. "Do you wish to argue on a beautiful night, or are you going to trust me on something as minor as Lady Saotome?"

Ifuku's mouth hung open with indignation at his words. "Minor?" She shook her head again, her worry escalating. "I would not call Lady Saotome 'minor', especially not when your marital comb is with her. Especially not if you gave it to her because you're in --"

"Do you trust me, Ifuku?" Sohin asked softly as he pulled her closer to him, effectively silencing her. She didn't answer immediately so he prodded her again, wanting to hear the reassurance that he had always had with her. "Don't you trust me?"

Ifuku's gaze softened and she sighed. She gave a resigned nod. "Of course I trust you. It's just that -- your marital comb? You provoked her, Sohin. I could see it in the way she asked about you."

"Leave Lady Saotome to me, Ifuku." He whispered then kissed her softly on the forehead. "You should learn to trust me more."

"I already trust you too much. I wish I could bring a parasol for the two of us, Sohin," Ifuku sighed and then whispered as she drew close, letting the unexplained engagement go. "But peasants are not allowed to such luxury."

He gave her a soft smile in return, happy that she dropped the subject to move on to the more mundane things in life. "It's **nighttime** we don't need it. How has the year been for you, Ifuku?"

"As well as one might," she brought her finger upon her cheek wiping away the signs of what seemed to be tears, but it was gone in an instant replaced by another smile. She brought up her earlier questions, "And you? How is the boy?"

He frowned at her question. "Well."

She took his hand and followed his lead. As usual, he picked the best place to talk, near the waves. They always talked by the shore, it was private and the waves lulled you into a false sense of security she missed. It was through practicality that Sohin chose the venue.

With the waves crashing against the sand, their conversation was muted to prying ears. They have long since learned that the night has eyes that pry, and the wind has ears that listen.

As Ifuku took her straw slippers in one hand while she stepped on the soft sand of the shoreline she sighed while Sohin supported her. "How long has it been, Sohin? Have you visited her grave?"

"No, I've always waited for you." Taking her slippers in his hand they walked in companionable silence in the night, with only the wind, and the lull of the waves breaking their thought.

How long they walked, they did not know. They did not stop until they reached the cliff that broke off Kamakura from the other cities. It was quite a distance from Rose Brier.

Sohin looked up from the cliff and climbed a little before offering Ifuku a hand, setting her slippers down for her to use. She smiled up at him, but adeptly followed, his offer not needed. The cliff was high, but they didn't climb further than a man's height.

When Sohin pulled Ifuku up the final distance, they stumbled through the small cave that was the object of their long walk. There was a lantern at the side. Ifuku had left it there a year ago when a storm broke.

While Sohin lighted the lamp, Ifuku went into the cave and knelt down in front of a small circlet of stones. The stones were buried so that it would mark the soft ground of the cave. It had once been their sanctuary. "I'm sorry. We did not bring flowers for you."

The pale yellow light from Sohin's lantern slowly filled the crevice as he walked towards her. Ifuku brushed the small stones as if in contemplation. "I'm sorry we had no burial, no food. I'm very sorry."

Sohin touched Ifuku's shoulder lightly. Still feeling a great amount of guilt coming from Ifuku, he tried to reassure her, "She understands. We don't have money, Ifuku, much less something to bury her in... or cremate her..."

"She deserves better," Ifuku protested, then finally she stood up and dusted her kimono off. Some of the soil clung to her, along with the scent of the cave, mixed soil and grass. "Do you blame me for what happened to her, Sohin?"

He shook his head vehemently as he held her shoulders for comfort. "We already talked about this, Ifuku. It had always been a sacrificial blow. She knew what happened. It was her choice as much as your own."

"Is it?" Ifuku shook her head as she patted his hands. "I can't keep this up anymore Sohin. How long can we remain as we are? I cannot train in what seems to be a useless dream to some while masking what I know most of the time."

"You tire of who we are?" Sohin asked softly as he embraced her comfortingly.

"I tire of who we are not. Is it not tiring to constantly pretend to be someone else?" Ifuku gave a long sigh. "But I fear that the more I lose myself trying to be who I am now that I forget who I really am."

"That if you look into the mirror the person you see is the person who you made and not you?" Sohin snorted as he looked at her. "How clichéd. It's practical to forget who we are -- who we were."

Ifuku shoved Sohin aside as she frowned. "And you are entirely too boring. Do you ever think of going back to Sanuki, Sohin?"

"I would never think of going without you," he assured her as he walked past her to bend down and pay his respects. A small thin silver that glinted when the light flickered across it caught his eye. He picked the thin link up and lifted it against the light.

Curious, Ifuku peered at what Sohin was holding and recognized it almost immediately. "That's her ear piece." Ifuku commented when got a good look at it. "It was something that she owned since her birth."

Ifuku looked at Sohin questioningly as he handed her the ornament. He turned back towards the grave, took away his top shirt and handed that to Ifuku as well. That done, he knelt near the grave and began digging at the soil frantically with his hands. "There's something..."

"Sohin! Don't --" But Ifuku stood back and let him finish, knowing that there must be a good reason for his sudden want to dig a year old body from its grave. She looked over his shoulder awaiting the body.

After an hour of working at the soil, and it having a considerable dent on it, Ifuku stared at the empty hole backing away slightly. "No... It can't be... this is high enough to..."

"She's missing," Sohin said thunderstruck. He looked at Ifuku, his eyes wild with anger and worry, not knowing what to do with the sudden revelation.

Ifuku shook her head as if clearing it, trying to will that the hole had a grotesque decomposing body with worms and maggots, not of the empty hole that sat there. "Maybe the marker was wrong..."

"Ifuku! The marker was buried into the ground, a circle of them, untouched..." Sohin stepped out of the hole that he made, the sweat mixing with the earth forming a brownish tint against his arms, feet and face. He took his shirt from Ifuku and hastily put it on. "I don't think wild animals could have gotten this far. No, the body was moved."

"Moved!" Ifuku echoed, she was close to tears as she sank towards the ground. She moved her hands against the ground as if willing the body to return. "But who would want a dead body? Surely it's of no use to anyone..."

"Let's get out of here," Sohin suddenly ordered, blowing the light out of the lantern, pulling Ifuku up, supporting half of her weight against his body. Although it was a useless act in itself, because the enemy was long gone, it made him feel safer. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"Who would want her body?" Ifuku wailed. Not really caring that she sounded like a child or that her voice was loud enough to carry across the walls.

"Think, Ifuku, Think!" Sohin whispered urgently, cautiously looking out of the cave before going out himself, with Ifuku in tow. "Who do we know is dreadfully demented, doesn't give up and badly wants her dead or alive?"

"Lady Chisei..." Ifuku lamented, realization dawning on her. She looked up to Sohin in fright, and realized that he too was as pale as ash. The news was not good. Smart as well as dreadfully demented, a very dangerous combination. And Chisei has always been dangerous.

"We're not safe in Kamakura anymore," Sohin declared, rain was starting to fall and the air smelled of the earth. "Faster, before the tide rises and we get stuck."

Finally shaken out of her stupor, Ifuku regained the use of her limbs. "Then where are we safe?" She did not want to leave the only place that had made her feel secure since her father died. "I can't let Chisei take her body!"

"We have no choice in the matter, Ifuku!" Sohin almost sounded like a father scolding his child. He shook her slightly as they went down to emphasize his words, trying to rattle her enough to bring common sense to her. "We can't go up and knock on her door. She controls the Sanuki, damn it. Listen to me."

"Control doesn't mean ownership." Ifuku whispered as she jumped down the final rock face on her own. "Ownership doesn't mean loyalty. How long will the people of Sanuki follow her?"

"As long as it takes for her to die."

* * *

The house was eerily silent that evening, and Ranma fidgeted under the flickering light that the lantern was giving off. He adjusted the light a bit before continuing the staring match with the black cloth and the sewing materials he snatched from Nabiki. 

Sighing, he folded them all and neatly tucked it away at the alcove where he kept all his clothes and stood up. He wasn't going to get any work done if he just **stared** at a piece of cloth all day.

Jumping up from his position, he decided to take a walk at the village. The streets usually calmed his nerves. Kamakura was a silent city at night where the children usually helped mend their father's fishing net or sew by the evening firelight, and the semblance of normalcy, of peacefulness -- of home -- would do him good.

He stepped out his usual doorway -- the window -- and jumped down from the house. Rather than employing his usual break neck run, he took a leisurely pace from the gardens of Rose Brier that led to the residential area of the city.

"Hey," someone called from behind him. He swiveled around slowly to find Akane leaning out of her window. She was almost unnoticeable through her dark room, but at the distance, he could see her. He was just a few feet away from the house. "We need to talk."

"What's there to talk about?" Ranma answered coolly, bringing his hands up to his neck and leaning against them, as if he had nothing better to do with his time. "Let me remind you that you're the one who ran out on me."

"I was wrong, I'm sorry. You shocked me." A small wisp of hair fell from her face as she leaned forward to see him better. She would have missed him in the night if not for his white shirt and for the fact that the cliff elevated the house. She could see the whole garden and the bay from her window. "Can't we talk about this whole inauguration thing?"

He shrugged. "It's something all samurai go through, I'm sure Nabiki has talked you through it. You know Anything Goes, Saotome samurai who know of its style must be known to the clan. It's protectionism. But that's not what you want to talk about is it?"

Akane hesitated then nodded. There was no use in going about in circles. This was the only chance she'd get of finding out anything from him. "Why the sudden change of mood? I thought we've worked things out?"

"Things changed. I talked to your brother. You don't have to pretend anymore." Ranma looked up at her. He gave her a smile that Akane decided was out of spite rather than one meant to reassure her. "I should have seen this coming Kodachi. It's no one else's fault but mine."

"Don't turn this around!" Akane answered angrily, she slammed her fist against the windowsill as she glared at him. "You were the one who deceived me. Ranko? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you knew of it already," Ranma shook his head as his smile dropped back to the neutral expression she was used to seeing. Jusenkyo was an unwritten pledge he and Nabiki had. Jusenkyo was also an order from Happosai... Jusenkyo was a clan secret. "Besides even if you didn't know, it was easier than having to explain Jusenkyo to you. You wouldn't really understand anyway."

Akane closed her eyes. She was close to giving up. "I would have at least tried to understand," she said it so softly, that Ranma almost didn't hear her.

"But would you have believed?" Ranma asked. It was an irrational fight. He knew that she had known of Jusenkyo from the start of their marriage, that she had known of 'Ranko', but she insisted on fighting about it.

She shook her head, wishing that she could find out where Kodachi's brother was... just so she could find out what he had said, why he had changed. "Perhaps you don't trust me because you don't understand me."

"Yes, I don't understand you, and I think I never will." Ranma shook his head as he dropped his hands to his sides, he looked at her straight in the eyes. "Trust is earned, Kodachi... The inauguration is in three weeks. Memorize the oath, and prepare yourself. Competitors of Anything Goes don't hold back in **this** fight."

He turned to go when she called out again. "Wait!"

He didn't turn back but almost unwillingly stopped in his tracks, when she was assured he wouldn't move she asked, "What about us?"

"There never was anything of the sort." Ranma closed his eyes, to try to forget, to block out the painful feelings that came with the memories of her words. "That was a plan on your part and a mistake on mine. Think of it as a dream. I promise I won't tell your parents."

With that he disappeared. Akane stared at the spot he had stayed at for a very long time.

* * *

Nabiki raised an eyebrow when she noticed Akane staring out the window and sighed. Ifuku has not yet turned in for the night since she had given her time with her husband. Because of this, the duties of taking care of Akane fell onto her hands. A job she particularly disliked. 

If she wasn't the reason why Ifuku was having a tryst with her husband, she would have gladly passed this job to her maid, whom she had sworn in not to tell Ifuku of the arrangement. But as it was, she would just have to hold her breath and endure.

Entering Akane's spacious room, Nabiki skillfully set down the porcelain bowl that Akane used to wash her face, a small wash cloth and some of the oils that Kodachi favored. She pulled a small night kimono from Akane's dresser and pulled the one with soft lilies and swans on it, laying it all down in a pleasing manner... 'The things I do to keep this house quiet.' Nabiki thought as she turned to Akane.

"My lady, your wash," It was only then that Akane had realized her entrance, and she was surprised at who had brought her things, equally so because of Nabiki's position in the house, and the way she had addressed her.

"Nabiki, is Ifuku ill? Shouldn't she be..."

"Ifuku is with her husband, Lady Kodachi. I'm paying off a debt." Nabiki answered in the sweetest tone she had ever used towards Akane. She went through pains to remove the malice that usually dripped from her sarcastic tone and it actually sounded sincere.

If Akane had any more objections, she kept her mouth wisely shut as she washed her face from the water and then her hands, wiping it delicately against the small towel that Nabiki offered. Then, Nabiki started to undo the laces on her hair and combed it down.

"Nabiki, do you know why Ranma is mad at me?" Akane asked tentatively, not knowing who to address anymore. Not knowing **how** to address them.

"I'm not in liberty to say." Nabiki answered as she continued to brush Akane's long black locks. "Do you love my brother, Lady Kodachi?"

There was a deep intake of breath, and a small tentative nod, as if she was unsure of her answer. The strings were weak and yet it was there. "I have never liked you, my lady, and to tell you the truth, I don't think I ever will. I've been forced civility to you before, but none as close as this." Nabiki brushed Akane's hair and swept it up to the high ponytail that she was accustomed to.

Nabiki traced the long scar that she had made across Kodachi's throat. It was something that had healed a long time ago. "Do you remember where this came from Lady Kodachi?"

"What?" Akane asked not knowing what Nabiki was referring to for she has never seen the scar.

Nabiki shook her head, as if convincing herself of the truth. "I was admiring an old scar of yours, Lady Kodachi." Nabiki stood up as she helped Akane to her evening kimono. "You forget easily, my lady, yet I wonder if you truly have forgotten or maybe selectively remembered. I'm at a loss whether to believe you or be wary of you."

She has always seen Akane, or maybe it was Kodachi, even she was confused. She didn't know if it was all a big mistake. Maybe this woman that stood before her was telling the truth, that she was Akane, she knows Anything Goes, and yet her moves lack the grace of the gymnast that she trained in. Fighting skills were something that was so hard to change. Kodachi fought with grace, this one fought with strength.

'Sometimes the truth is hard to take... but it's still the truth.' Nabiki thought as she stared at Akane. If Jusenkyo taught her anything, that was one of them. If this is truly who she was, then had they all made a mistake in judging her, just as she had made the mistake of judging them?

"Be wary then, because if you believe, you might blame me if I'm not the person who you think I am." Akane sighed as she looked out. "Does your brother make it a habit to move out so late at night?"

"You've noticed." Nabiki smirked as she followed Akane's gaze towards the window. "And Sasuke gave the signal that he's asleep already, he escapes so easily... he misses the freedom of his youth, when he was not lord to a land. We were brought up differently, Ranma and I, and I guess it makes it hard upon him."

Hard upon the both of them, but she wasn't about to reveal that to her brother's wife. She saw Akane sigh once again, and Nabiki, as she had been accustomed to most of her life, found herself psychoanalyzing Ranma's wife. "Don't worry about it too much."

Akane looked back at her startled. "You mean Ranma? I thought you were against the very idea of us being together. I don't think I've ever heard anything kind from you."

"You misjudge me," Nabiki bowed gracefully. "I am but a sister who cares deeply for her older brother, I want the best for him, but that's not what I was referring to."

"Then what?" Akane asked puzzled not knowing what else Nabiki could see.

Nabiki tilted her head to the side as if assessing her, then whispered urgently to her, as if her life depended on the answer. "The pain."

"What hurts?" Akane asked genuinely confused at this point.

"Knowing that the reason you want to avoid my brother is that you want to be with him so much and the reason you have tried to hate him is that you love him." Nabiki blew the light off the lantern to help Akane sleep, picking up all the things that she had brought with her. "You're confusing yourself. But it's normal."

"I can't be **ab**normal to in the first place, because there is no situation to act abnormally **on**." Akane answered irritably, having lost Nabiki completely.

Nabiki shook her head, she didn't know why she found so much fun in trying to get to her brother's love interests, but she found that they were so much fun to tease. But there was some grain of truth in what she said. She could not outright lie to them... not about this. "Then this isn't abnormal? Pining away for someone who steals one fleeting moment then turns around completely for another? For someone who looks out the window hoping for a stolen glance that would never reach you? Then perhaps you are normal, my dear Akane, perhaps I am mistaken."

She opened the shoji and some of the soft light from the hall spilled down the almost dark room, and Nabiki looked back. "For your sake, hope that I am not wrong, because if not, then you are the woman that I have sworn to kill, my lady. Pray to whatever gods you believe in that you truly love my brother and not the power he will have or the land he owns. This may be the last time I will talk to you in such a manner, but now more so than ever, I distrust you and yet I find myself doubting my mistrust."

"I am torn between the two personalities you have presented me, my lady, torn between two truths that even I cannot sift through." Nabiki shook her head in disdain and then stared back at Akane again. "I am tired, my lady, and I hope that what you have shown me tonight is who you are, not who you want us to believe you are."

"But... that's just the same thing..." Akane protested.

"Not to us." Nabiki whispered, then continued, "You are to become part of our school, and that holds more than your claim to be Ranma's wife." Nabiki shook her head. "I hope you understand the meaning of that oath, the meaning of why you have been taken in."

With that Nabiki shut the door and left Akane pondering on what she had said.

* * *

Ifuku and Sohin arrived barely in time for the sun to rise and Ifuku was so tired Sohin was half carrying her through the halls. Sohin was mildly thankful that the rain washed most of the soil that clung to him from his late night impulse of grave digging, but it left him chilled. 

As Sohin moved towards the house Ranma-chan met him at one of the higher halls. She raised her eyebrow at his charge then at him. "If you're trying to sneak up on the house, I suggest some quiet. I thought the house was under siege." She quipped at him as she grumbled. "What are you doing up this early?"

Sohin didn't know why he was being questioned so boldly by someone who didn't own the house. He didn't know how to react with her question so he settled on giving her a puzzled look. "Uh... taking a stroll?"

Ranma gave him a sidelong glance then turned to Ifuku. "Hey Ifuku, I know you're married and all, but you should know by now that being out up 'til the first hour of the day would do wonders for your head when you're trying to please Kodachi." She sighed as Ifuku just raised her bleary eyes at Ranma. "Dead tired eh? Well she's out. What did you do to her? Wait... I **really** don't want to know. Here give her to me."

Sohin obliged, the woman seemed to know what she was doing, and he had to get out of the house to see what Chisei was up to anyway. "If Ifuku asks she could always meet me at the temple." He told Ranma. Sohin was surprised when he found out what Ranma meant by giving Ifuku to her. He had been expecting her to assist Ifuku to bed, not to continue carrying her. She nodded.

"So, you're leaving without any say so." Ranma smiled a little at the thought and then proceeded to tease him. "That's going to be hard on your 'engagement' with Nabiki. She needs her groom you know."

At that moment, an equally disoriented Nabiki got out of her room glaring daggers at Ranma. "Ranma!" Sohin took a step back, as he took in Ranma's features again. It took him a while to connect the name with the person since he had not seen the effects of Jusenkyo before. 'How could I have been so dense? Ifuku told me about Jusenkyo.'

Nabiki ran a hand through her hair, with the braid replaced by a loose ponytail it hung below her waistline the brown locks curled at the ends reaching her knees as she tried to support herself with her left hand while heavily leaning against the shoji. If there was something Sohin learned about their month long stay together, it was that Nabiki was definitely **not** a morning person.

"I know you're alive and well in this hour... and I know I'm supposed to be awake when you are... but I really need another stick of sleep today. So I was wondering if you could please keep your tone down?" Nabiki always said things in a manner that brooked no argument. It looked like she had been up all night and morning and had gone to bed wearing what she had worn the day before. Ranma noticed that she did take the time to take her hair out of its usual braid to put it in a simple loose ponytail the comb firmly wedged between the bindings.

She just gave her a small smile then turned towards Sohin and nodded to him before she went to Ifuku's room. "Sure, Nabiki." Ranma-chan called out with a smile. Then switched to Chinese to tease his sister without embarrassing her with Sohin too much, " However you've just blown the entire Jusenkyo thing with Sohin and I really hope you have a replacement groom 'cuz this one's leaving! " With that Ranma disappeared into Ifuku's room.

Sohin just stared, although he had not understood a word that she had said, he had a feeling that leaving fast seemed to be a good idea. When he moved to depart, he noticed that his shirt was caught on something. When he turned around in an attempt to free it, he noticed that it was connected to Nabiki's finger.

She released his shirt with distaste. "Figures. You're **just** the type to give me problems so early in the morning." She crossed her arms in front of her, suddenly lucid. If Sohin hadn't been with her for the past week, he would have never guessed that Nabiki Saotome was not a morning person. At that moment, it looked like she was never frazzled.

"Uh... I really need to go, Lady Saotome," it sounded weak, even to his ears, but he could give no reason for the sudden departure, just as he could give no concrete reason for his sudden arrival.

Although he was expecting a fight, Nabiki didn't seem like she was going to give one. She nodded. "You have your own life, and I was expecting you to leave sooner." She took out the comb she wore in her hair, taking a while to detangle it from the bindings. He was so used to seeing on her, that he did not notice its presence until she touched it. "Although..." She shook her head. "Thank you, Sohin-san." She took off a coiled strand of hair from the comb and handed it back to him.

He looked at the comb uneasily. It was his custom to trade one gift for another, and he had been planning to leave the house without the comb with him. Now that it was presented to him, Nabiki's suspicion would be roused by a refusal. Especially since it was supposedly Ifuku's. He nodded as he took the comb and put it away in the pack that he always carried.

He turned to go when Nabiki's amused voice stopped him. "What, no good-bye?" There was no mistaking the small laugh in her voice. "I know I've been hard to live with, but even I deserve a decent farewell."

"Does that **decent** farewell include a kiss?" he prodded, moving his head sideways to see her response to his quip.

She shifted lightly leaning against the shoji the grin leaving her face. "Surely, Sohin-san, you know that kisses come from courtesans in the futon and wives in the marriage bed. Since I am neither your wife nor your whore, I am not in a position to give you what you ask for. I would rouse Ifuku for your request but since she's just been put to bed, I find that venture a waste."

"You're mistaken, my lady," Sohin corrected mildly, still not turning towards Nabiki and the silent outrage that was still lingering in her eyes. "It was not my request. It was yours."

He continued out of the hall towards the staircase, at the last minute, he raised his hand for a half-hearted wave, although it seemed out of place because he had not turned back to look.

A thought came unbidden to his mind, 'I didn't even say goodbye to Ifuku.'

* * *

Kodachi slapped her new captive to rouse him from the potion she used on him. The mild tranquilizer she painstakingly created in her labs, she used sparingly for she had only stolen a few from Rose Brier. She had to save what she had for her plans, with its quantity decreasing rapidly and her sources only at Rose Brier, she had to be frugal. 

Her impatience for him to wake up was urged by the fact that she hated delays in her plans, and he was most certainly a delay in hers. He was fair, samurai from the way he held himself... surely not a ronin with his clothes, and it looks like he was not far from the main lines... His family must want whoever was supposed to be in this body -- or her.

He blinked in his dazed state, as he was slowly brought back to reality, only to find himself skillfully rendered paralyzed by Kodachi's drugs and by the ropes that bound him. "You're awake. Good. I don't like wasting time, why have you been following me?"

From the looks of it, he wasn't going to answer her. That was all right, after the sleep toxin wears off the truth serum will kick in, but that would take some time. Samurai were extremely dull, they didn't respond to torture and aren't afraid to die. "Since you don't like to talk, and you're not a Saotome samurai, I'm guessing you're after the previous owner of my body."

He was confused, Kodachi's smile grew wider. "I don't normally talk to strangers, but I'll make an exception for you, because, my dearest boy, I am not the woman you are looking for." She gave him a small pat on the cheek for emphasis then took the sword that she had separated from him from her waist. "A fine sword you have here, light... and very sharp... you're not from the south are you?"

"Yes?" Kodachi gave out a small leisurely smile as he watched him try to combat the drug, but to know avail... she knew her potions well. "What's my name?"

"Still mute?" Kodachi shrugged. "No matter, let's see... you're from the south from the looks of your sword and your clothes. You're from a very minor house since I don't recognize the insignia on your sheath or your kimono. You were shocked to see me. I'd wager it's because I'm supposed to be dead."

From the way he looked at her, Kodachi knew she hit not far from the mark. She may have ignored a large part of her schooling, but her teachers always grudgingly admitted that she's smarter than most. "I wonder what your liege lord would say if they found me alive and your head on a platter? Still not willing to talk?"

Kodachi stretched her muscles as she eyed him then leaned back at the shoji. Still, it was good she was hunted down. It was a clue to her body's past. Something that would tell her what she was looking for. A few minutes after Kodachi tried again. "Is the potion working already? Are you willing to talk?" She didn't wait for an answer because she knew the drug had already taken him fully. "My name, if you please."

"Tendo Akane."

Kodachi let out a small smile, yes, the gods do enjoy the little games they play on their mortals don't they. Her smile evolved to a full-blown laugh. To be in the body of Hibiki Akane's **namesake** was a novelty, but to be in the body of her ancestor? "Why do you hunt me?"

And the long story was weaved out of the samurai. Before the daylight faded into night, Kodachi was making plans on how to use the Tendo Clan to her advantage.

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**Disclaimer**: Ranma and co. were borrowed from the brilliant mind of Rumiko Takahashi. Book that the story was based from was 'When there was Hope.'

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**Endnotes:**

**Sanuki **is the Kagawa prefecture. It was renamed to Kagawa later on in life. From Jourdan Bickam: The prefecutral system wasn't developed until the Meiji Restoration of 1868 or maybe the constitution in 1889. Feudal domains (fiefs) were called 'Han'. Thus the Sanuki region was probably renamed and regrouped into the Kagawa prefecture

Regarding Akane's move, **Yama Arashi** or Mountain Storm: This is something I picked up at _The HEAP: Ranma 1/2 RPG: Ki-based powers_. I don't know how it looks like however, I think it was described as a healing move. It's solely a game based move. I should have made a special attack on my own, and I respect those who could actually write one and pull it off effectively.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Ahem... belated Merry Christmas(Happy Holidays if you don't have Christmas in your religion)! Advanced Happy New Year!

Writing is coming along... slowly, as I have a Quantum Chemistry exam this January. Anyway, I'm still stuck on the **fight scene**, someone has suggested I look for ghost writers... but I'm working on finding someone to help me with it first... if you want to help I could be reached at siuane _at_ gmail _dot_ com. Comments are welcome, especially at Ranma's attitude, suggestions are even better especially with the fight scene. I suck at writing fight scenes and my sister told me after reading this one that: a) her head hurt from reading it b) she thought Ranma was doing a Kouga (in InuYasha in case you haven't seen it yet).

Fan art for the fanfic could be found at as well as they hierarchy of the daimyo etc. If you wanna add more fan art, I'm amenable to that too. :)

I posted an original fic at **fanfictionpress **too! Yay! My account name there is iCe Dreams since iCe was already taken.

Let me rant for a while first: GAAAH I hate the way FF.N uploads! the automatic p is driving me nuts, I now have to manualy convert to HTML from text format, and with the length of every chapter it's really uncomfortable. Okay now I'm finished. Enjoy your vacation.

iCe

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**Special Thanks to:  
**Roja Cyd, Dream and Angel, Jourdan Bickham, Byooki Desu, Don Granberry, Acetylene, Negai 

And to the person reading this.

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**webpage**: iCe _dot_ esmartdesign _dot _com  
**email **siuane _at _gmail _dot _com  
**LJ **iCe of dreams _with the spaces as underscore_

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I write when the spirit moves, and I make sure it moves every day.  
_unknown_


	14. Part 13: October

**Revision dates**  
06/10/07 : changed all references of Yuki to Eruchii as Eruchii-oniisama. I can't believe I forgot that honorific.  
11/19/06 : Revised a Ranma-Akane scene. Corrected punctuation marks.  
04/02/06 : common errors in the English language  
12/28/04 : release date

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**Special Thanks to:**  
Roja Cyd  
Dream and Angel  
Jourdan Bickham  
Acetylene  
Negai  
Gangsta Spanksta 

And to the person reading this.  
**Merry Christmas everyone and a happy new year!**

* * *

Here where men sit and hear each other groan;  
Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last gray hairs,  
Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies;  
Where but to think is full of sorrow  
And leaden-eyed despairs;  
Where beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes,  
Or new love pine at them beyond tomorrow.  
_Ode to a Nightingale_

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**Rendezvous with Fate v. 3  
**by iCe  
Chapter 13

_...The inauguration was probably the scariest, most exhilarating thing I have ever done in my entire life..._

* * *

Akane looked nervously around the room she had been led into, wearing a standard issue gi that the maids provided for them. Happosai's donjon did not look special for the fight... at least not outside. Ranma gave her three weeks to prepare for the inauguration, but her mind was still blank with regard to what was happening here. 

The lotus banners that adorned the walls were those that have been presented even back at the time when it had been Nodoka's birthday celebration. There were no fancy rice throwing, no special markings that indicated today would change the lives of the several samurai children good enough to be chosen.

In the room were fifty children, their ages ranging from fifteen to the oldest of twenty, excluding Akane. Even though the children were all related, Akane sensed that competition was thick in the air. All of them wanted to advance their skills, but only fifteen would really proceed.

She wished that Sei and Hanae were with her, although she had been informed that the two of them were in a different room. Their test would prove their worth as a Saotome samurai and the difference lay in that if they failed, they could always come again and again. In the competition she was in, there were no second chances.

Akane tightened the belt she wore, feeling out of place with the children she would be competing against. One of them came closer and smiled. It was the first friendly face of the season. She was a young girl who looked almost childish with her twin pigtails. "I can't believe it, you're the heir's wife. I thought he wasn't allowed to teach the art to his wife."

"He's the heir. He could do whatever he wants," one of the children, a boy probably sixteen years old who looked like he argued with everyone, countered. "Happosai's just too suspicious of skills being passed down to non-Saotomes that's all."

"It's a family **treasure**, Seki," the girl argued turning to the boy who had just interrupted her. "The heir would not teach it without reason." Again she turned to Akane. "You must be very special."

"She's too old to be special, Megumi," Seki shot back as he ran his hands through his hair, his tone condescending. Akane sensed that Seki did not accommodate mistakes easily. "The heir is just trying to toy with Happosai."

Akane opened her mouth to protest at the blatant insult and at the fact that a **child** a decade younger than her could say it in front of her face, but she was interrupted by Megumi again, "Give it up, Seki. You cannot possibly analyze the twins' political tactics. Their strategy is legendary, and their skill is widely known. No one has ever predicted what they would do."

By now, a number of the children were crowded around the two, already divided in their views of what her presence here would signify. "Don't I have a say in this?" Akane asked, outraged that they were talking about her as if she wasn't there and looking more and more like pawn in a chessboard.

Megumi and Seki turned to her immediately, Megumi with an apologetic smile on her face, and Seki with an eyebrow raised at her. It was Megumi who spoke up first, "Sorry, it's just that the twins are the most talked about hatamoto in the entire Saotome lands."

"Don't you ever tire of talking about the wonder twins Megumi?" One of the older children in the group asked. "Their reign is almost over. I'm sure one of us could beat them."

"They've stayed on top since their first competition within our ranks when they were sixteen," someone shouted from the back, all of the children now intent on talking about Ranma and Nabiki. "This is going to be his third consecutive undefeated championship if no one else wins against him. People are not going to wait another five years for the next chance."

"They're getting old," Seki pointed out ruefully while rubbing a dragon tattoo that encircled his left wrist, its head biting the tail. "Wouldn't it be too shameful if we get beaten by a thirty year old samurai? They're twice our age."

"Everyone knows that Saotome skill doesn't wane it just improves!" one of the girls complained. They were shouting comments, throwing it at one another just as soon as the other spoke, and it was difficult to pinpoint exactly who was speaking, or what they were saying. "We're lucky this isn't a match to the death or we would be taken out instantly!"

Another shout from the sea of voices, "Such pessimism from one so young, are you sure you're ready for this test?"

"Wait!" Akane protested. The voices gradually faded to soft murmurs as all eyes turned towards Akane. "Whatever Ranma's reasons for plunging me headlong into this is none of your business."

"On the contrary, Lady Kodachi," Seki said indulgently, as if he was speaking to a child who was only beginning to learn. "It is everyone's business. The twins hold Saotome politics in the palm of their hands. Happosai does not even come close to the respect that the twins' peers hold for them."

Akane noticed, not for the first time that though Nabiki and Ranma merited titles and was even respected albeit grudgingly, Happosai's name was pronounced with scorn. "Then why is he liege lord?"

Suddenly the room became quiet as if the children, could not voice out their reason. Finally one girl offered the answer that the others did not dare say. "Lord Happosai is cunning, Lady Kodachi. He holds our reins through his teeth, and the **twins** respect Happosai. They would not take the clan from him for any other reason than Happosai's death."

It was not the favored answer, and the children once again started arguing amongst themselves, "The twins can take Lord Happosai's title any time."

"Not if they take it with martial arts," another child muttered.

Nabiki suddenly entered the room, and instantly the room's voices hushed. From some of the murmurs Akane heard, she knew that it had not been the norm for Nabiki to speak to them. From what a girl hastily explained to a younger sibling, Ranma, as heir, had always been the one to speak to the young blood.

Whatever the reason for the sudden change, Nabiki did not explain. Nabiki was wearing the black silk that she had been wearing when they were summoned to Yuigahama. Her long brown hair was tied in a usual pigtailed but twisted in to a bun on the base of her neck. The twin swords were comfortably rested on her belt.

"Gossiping already?" she asked with a bit of humor touching her voice, although more than half of those present colored in shame. "I assume you've been told of this moment ever since you started training, but let me reiterate it. This will be your **only** chance to learn anything beyond the advanced arts, and only fifteen students will be given permission to learn. Are there any questions?"

"Who would train us when we pass?" Seki asked, the self-assured tone in his voice gone with Nabiki's presence.

Nabiki smiled at him. "So sure of winning, are we Seki?" Nabiki shook her head at the boy. "After earning the right for further training you will fight the thirty top ranked samurai in the clan who have no apprentices for the advanced lessons. You will be trained by the person you failed to beat. Should three or more fail at one Saotome master alone, then a higher ranked Samurai will be asked to train you. The samurai-child match ups will be assigned by a majority vote of the thirty samurai whom you will be facing."

"It will be my pleasure learning from you, Lady Nabiki," Seki asserted as he bowed with flourish. "But what if I beat the heir?"

"Arrogance is a sign of Saotome blood, Seki, and so is not knowing your limits. It is both amusing and promising," Nabiki informed him, her tone did not show offence from his questioning rather, clear amusement. "No one has beaten Ranma in fifteen years and you propose to do so. You who have not even mastered chi at this age."

Seki's embarrassed shake of head was apparent to all who was present. Nabiki smiled at her assessment of his skill and continued to answer his question, "If you, by chance, beat my brother, he will relinquish his title to you. He will teach you everything he knows and then once a year Lord Happosai will try to kill you."

There were slow murmurs from the children and Nabiki laughed. "Happosai's only way to impart his precious knowledge is through combat, his time cannot be spent in a whole year round apprenticeship. Are there more questions?"

The silence through the room was enough of an answer for Nabiki. "Very well, I have assigned all of you to individual quarters for the five days that you will be staying here. I have assigned one servant per competitor. Your maid will tell you when you will compete, where your competition will be held and with whom you will be fighting against. All correspondence to me or any other samurai will be done through your maid."

Nabiki clapped her hands, and fifty servants dressed in their plain kimonos filed into the room stepping beside the child she was assigned to. Akane was glad that Ifuku, who had come along, was assigned to her. "Your servants have all been instructed with what to do with you. Rest well. You will need your strength."

Nabiki turned to go, but as an after thought swiveled around and smiled. "And Seki? Kumon and I will await your win over Mori." Mori was the fourth ranked samurai and the last one Seki had to beat to compete against Nabiki.

-

Talking to one of the inductees was forbidden in between the fights. Happosai held strict rules for the inauguration, especially since it was the whole life of the clan. It was about Anything Goes. It was about the succession of the line. Not that Happosai needed anyone to succeed him... yet.

So instead Ranma followed Hanae and Sei's progress from the shadows, both of whom were facing their respective opponents in various parts of the donjon. Nabiki rested beside him on one of the upper windows. "Your daughter is doing well, Ranma. She will earn the Saotome name in this tournament."

Ranma nodded in acknowledgement, his eyes not leaving Hanae's battle. It was her third and it was held over one of the bridges crossing the donjon to the gardens. "Sei is doing pretty good as well."

Nabiki nodded, Sei's own battle was being held along one of the cliffs to the far side of the manor. Most of the fights were in various places of the donjon and not in some structured arena. This was in accordance to the Anything Goes tenets. Anyone could be attacked anywhere, any time. Happosai picked every place that tested each student's skill in every possible fighting environment. "You've trained them well."

"I'm not the only one who's trained them," Ranma reminded her. He turned his back on the fight, taking the scroll that she brought with her and opened the seal. "I'm to referee the battle of Megumi vs. Eimi in one stick at Kodachi's rose gardens. Where's your fight?"

Nabiki made a face. "At the forest with Hitoshi vs. Kaname. A lot of the children are wanting for their samurai status this year. Most of us are scheduled free for later though. I would want to see the fight for the advanced students. Your wife has caused quite a stir among the competitors. They even wondered why it wasn't you who addressed them."

"She'll make it," Ranma answered confidently, ignoring the fact that Nabiki was pointing out his inability to perform his duties as heir by boosting up the children's morale before the competition. "She's older than expected, and most of the children will underestimate her. That won't mean she will be in the top ranks, but that'll buy her enough time to gauge her opponent. Those who will be beaten by her would say it was luck and won't tell her weakness to the others, it's a tactical move. It's always in the loser's best interest never to tell the winner's down side."

"She is rather skilled, I can't deny that." Nabiki frowned as she looked towards the wing that housed the competitors. "I wonder myself why you petitioned her earning advanced training. She doesn't even have the right to call herself Saotome samurai. At least I know why I thought of petitioning for her."

Ranma turned to look at Nabiki and smiled ruefully. "She'll not get the chance to call herself Saotome samurai, ever." He wanted to gauge Nabiki's reaction, but he could never read anything from his sister when she didn't want him to. "But her knowledge cannot be denied, she knows a hell of a lot more than what an average Saotome samurai should."

"I've heard that before. You're just legitimizing her use of Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu. That's okay with me." She paused as she tapped the scroll that contained her orders absentmindedly on her palm. "I just wonder why now and why **ever**. Happosai never needed to know what she knew." Nabiki gave a long pause for emphasis. She then took a breath to calm herself before continuing, "Sometimes I think it's because more than marriage, this ritual will force her to be closer to us... to you. This trial won't judge her **humane**, **caring** nor **wifely** for you, Ranma. It just makes her competent enough to handle future training, lucky enough to be able to handle training."

"I'm not doing this for that," Ranma protested, and Nabiki brought a hand up to silence him.

"Do not lie to me." Nabiki shook her head as she took in Ranma's features. "You couldn't decide on what she is to you, so you think the competition would decide for you."

Ranma frowned. "You're reading more into this than necessary." He turned around to walk towards the gardens. "I'll be late for my first duty. I suggest you run along to yours."

"Your wife's first match is **aerial** combat, Ranma," Nabiki informed him as she watched her brother go. He had not turned around to look at her, but he knew what her statement implied. He himself has stressed Akane was not good for any type of aerial maneuver. "It would be held within forest grounds, between the trees. The temporary Jusenkyo like places he has around here."

For advanced training, instead of different settings seen in everyday fights, the children were given unnatural circumstances requiring every bit of skill they had learned since the passing of the samurai test. They were not given the advantage over another samurai by attaining 'easy' settings because they passed through every single one of the hand picked arenas.

The aerial combat, one which is held on top of bamboo poles was favored by Happosai because of the combination of balance and the jumps that defined mid-air battles. Happosai prided himself in that specialty of Anything Goes. Judging from Akane's skill with mid-air attacks, she would need all the support she could get.

* * *

Akane stared at the long bamboo poles that lined the forest and tried hard not to gulp. The bamboo poles looked rickety, easily bendable and quite **tall**. 'Just how high do they expect me to jump?' Akane thought as she moved closer to one of the stalks and gave it a slight push to test how deep it was embedded. Thankfully, the pole did not move easily.

'Okay that rules out falling by a somewhat swaying stem,' Akane thought to herself and then shook her head again. 'Now how the hell am I going to get up there?'

There was a light tap on her shoulder, and she looked at Seki, her first adversary. 'Great.' She did not want her first fight to be with someone too confident about himself.

"Checking out the area as well, Lady Saotome?" he asked as he jumped up on top of the poles balancing easily from one pole to the other. "It's quite sound, as you see." He jumped back down again and grinned. "They told me my brother lost on these sticks fifteen years ago to Lord Ranma."

"Do you resent that?" Akane wondered. Although Seki had been a mere baby around the time she sensed that his purpose revolved around his brother's fight.

"Not really." Seki grinned again as he looked at her. He was taller than she was, so she had to look up to see his eyes. "The heir has always been **good** there was no denying that. And my brother did proceed to the next level. I just want to surpass what my brother achieved."

Akane smiled at him. Determination was not rare in Saotome children. She caught a wisp of falling hair as Seki jumped up on one of the poles practicing a kata.

"Eager aren't they?" the voice that broke her thoughts was old but firm. Akane swiveled around to find a man who was probably around her father's age with eye glasses and a bandana on his head. In the daylight, the dark contrast of the black garb seemed too sharp against his larger belly but he had a ready smile. "I think Seki will do well for my next apprentice."

Before he could say more, Seki had hopped down from where he had been standing and bowed to the stranger. "Genma-sensei, will you be the judge of the poles?"

"A Jusenkyou like test needs to be judged by a person who has actually been there." Genma laughed as he slapped the hollow stem. "The time of your fight isn't for a while, but I won't object if you want it earlier. You are the first to use these poles for the inauguration."

"I don't mind," Seki answered eagerly looking at the tall tropical grass, hovering over him easily. It was obvious he was itching for a fight. He winked at Akane. "I'll meet you up there, Lady Kodachi."

"Rather arrogant too," Akane muttered cursing at the given setting and the fact that she was not very well versed with the skills necessary to compete well in the given circumstance. "He's doing this without asking me you know."

Although Genma raised an eyebrow at her in askance, Akane sighed and nodded. She wouldn't have backed down anyway but she would have liked it if Seki asked her about it. Biting her lip, Akane decided on a course of action. The poles easily towered over her, having been cut uniformly at around twenty feet. She knew for certain that she couldn't take the stalk one leap, a feat that was close to impossible when all she could jump was, at most, five feet.

Taking a long breath to calm her nerves, she took on a running start, rebounding off pole after pole until she managed to stay on the top, using two poles as a foothold. She wobbled a little at the way the poles held, but though they were flexible, they were firm.

Seki was smiling and in a relaxed stance when she was finally able to face him. She knew she had made a wrong moved when she had allowed him to watch her handle her jump towards the top. "Can't take the height? How in the world are you going to fight me?"

"Fighting isn't just about how high you can jump, you know," Akane responded going into a loose ready stance, flexing her arms as she brought them in front of her. She was determined to prove to the Saotomes that she could win in any setting.

Genma jumped on one of the poles in one leap. He adjusted his spectacles and chuckled a bit. "It's good to see that the two of you are quite spirited. Okay, this is the first match for the two of you, so I guess I'll be telling you the rules that would apply to majority of the tournament." He paused briefly consulting with a small scroll he had and then continued, "Anything Goes. This is your first aerial combat, the only rules are, don't touch the ground, no killing and barehanded combat only. That means no instruments or potions that you're fond of Kodachi and no chi. Winner is first touch on the ground or knock out."

Akane blew a wisp of black hair from her face. Genma looked at the two of them. "Ready." He used his hand to signal go before he jumped off to a relatively safe distance on top of a far pole.

Because she was acquainted with Saotome impatience she'd opted to wait out the first attack than be on the offensive side. She was rewarded with Seki leaping up and aiming for her head. For a split second Akane wondered how she was going to sidestep given the fact that she was on top of a thin wobbling stick. She managed to evade Seki's kick but had over assessed her balance given the slenderness of the pole making the wobbling worse and toppling her.

Using the falling momentum, she dropped on her side and tried to catch the bamboo opposite her. Seki gave a hearty laugh as he stood passively on top of the pole adjacent to hers. "Out just after one strike?"

Akane rolled her eyes as she tried to swing around the wooden rods like a gymnast would on double bars. 'Thank God for PE.' Akane thought as she used the force she had gained from the swinging to step onto the top.

When she was face to face with Seki she raised an eyebrow, wondering why he hadn't taken advantage of her struggling and struck at her. He shrugged, fully understanding what she was asking. "I wouldn't want one lousy slip on the bamboo to take away my victory, Lady Kodachi."

He launched at her again, almost in exactly the same way he had previously done. This time, Akane just jumped towards the nearest bamboo crouching to keep her center low and balance intact. When Seki had landed he was on all fours smiling ferally at her. "Lady Kodachi, evading won't get you anywhere."

'Which was true,' acknowledged the rational part of Akane's mind. 'Nobody really wins while being in the defensive. Okay, scratch that, if you had a huge fort, and an army it was quite a possibility, but this wasn't some skirmish over land.'

Akane used the poles to suspend herself in midair as she slid lower. She then used a strong kick to cut the bamboo at her feet into a pole twice her arm's length. When she had that, she jumped towards another pole using her newly acquired pogo stick. She looked behind her momentarily to see that Seki was jumping from pole to pole to taunt her, smiling at her inability to reach the other footholds successfully.

Finally, Seki jumped in front of her giving her a side swipe and another high kick before she used the pogo as a rebound and hit him on the leg when she swiped at him from below.

He took that by flipping over to the next pole. You had to hand it over to the kid: He had fancy footwork down to a T. He barely minded the gaps of the bamboo instantly knowing where he would land next. "This is barehanded combat you know. You're not allowed to use that pole against me," he reminded her as he shook loose a bit of the splinters that had dusted his hair from Akane's weapon.

She was using it more for balance than to ward him off. 'Although... now that he mentions it, it is a good enough weapon.' It **was** Anything Goes. There was that tiny rule on barehanded combat... but this was from her battleground. She didn't want to take the chance for a technical default though. 'And I suck at newly acquired weapons.' Akane smiled as she hefted the pole. "Yeah, well tough luck."

She swung the pole low but he jumped over it. Using the pole as a long jumper would, she propelled herself against Seki trying to give him a kick. It was then that she found out the Saotome mastery of mid-air combat, for though he had no solid wall to rebound against, he had managed to avoid neatly, perform a spin kick at her and then land gracefully on top one of the other poles.

All she had managed to do was use the bamboo pole to suspend her in the air by holding it horizontally on top of two vertical bamboo poles. Seki shook his head aiming a solid kick at her. Before he connected, Akane vaulted over the horizontal bar and tried to land solidly on top of another bamboo pole bringing her pole with her. He managed to split one of the poles that she had used for support.

She winced. It was a good thing his kick hadn't connected or she would have been on the receiving end of a few broken ribs. Although she had managed to land in the first hit, Seki did not seem too affected by her punch and she on the other hand, was starting to feel the strain on her arms for relying on them too much for vaulting over immense heights just to meet Seki in mid-air.

Sooner or later, Seki would win because she was exhausted. So she needed to end it before he pushed her harder. When Seki landed on a new bamboo pole, Akane used all her strength to launch herself at him. He almost met her, but was able to jump on to the next pole before she had cut the bamboo he had been standing on in half.

Giving her a half smile Seki stood balancing one foot on the bamboo and the other folded into a crane stance in front of him, his hands loosely reminding Akane of a ballerina. "I know what you're doing Lady Kodachi. You're chopping off the playing field."

Akane frowned. 'Not really.' She had just been trying to get Seki imbalanced so she could drop him below. This Saotome tried to read in too much into the fight than what she was doing. And he was rather bad at it too.

Limiting the playing field into two poles would be an advantage for her though, especially if they were two very **close** bamboo poles. That means she didn't need to vault over as much and would receive proper close combat. She would also manage to ground Seki close to her, making a few more moves in her arsenal useable.

As she blocked Seki's punch, the inherent flaw of her style became apparent to her. She jumped back grappling for a pole behind her treating the hand that had blocked Seki tenderly. She could have sworn he had shattered it. Her style was a **defensive** style. It provided protection against robbers and molesters. She had hardly ever had training for more offensive moves, and when she had, rarely. Like the dojo destroyer, which she had managed to win through the skin of her teeth **after** training so damned **hard** because of her first defeat against those blasted signs.

Signs of the disheartening news must have shown for Seki pressed the advantage as he dropped to his side, his right arm jabbing quickly at her feet as he fell, he held on to the bamboo as he delivered a kick up to Akane's chin. Akane dodged it by leaning backward only to be imbalanced and desperately tried to grope for another bamboo pole.

Flipping up and landing on the pole Akane had previously been standing on, Seki peered over the edge. "Giving up so quickly, Lady Saotome?"

"Not just yet." Came the rebellious answer. She had been fast enough to elude his moves thus far. It would not do if she would quit now. She tried to vault over the pole but Seki had been ready for her. He had jumped off to meet her striking a vicious blow on her stomach, which knocked the wind out of her propelling her to the ground. He had figured out early on that she could not evade effectively while her feet were not touching the poles.

By the time that she had regained her breath she was almost near the ground. She pulled herself against a pole, her body slamming against her support because of her drop. She coughed out a bit of blood and looked up at Seki. He was smiling at her. Again. Although this was more of an arrogant smile. She had prepared to bound up again, but found out her strength had left her. She was also starting to hurt in places that she hadn't known Seki had touched.

Deciding that she could not get enough momentum to propel herself at the height Seki was on, she punched the bamboo he was standing on with enough brute strength to cut it down to her level. The pole broke off halfway, finally touching the ground, but Seki had already side stepped on an adjoining bamboo, making the transfer from one pole to the other seem so effortless that Akane had to wonder if the poles she had been standing on were farther apart than Seki's.

"Give it up, my lady," Seki called from the top, sliding down the bamboo pole he had chosen, reminding Akane of a fireman going to duty. He was far enough from Akane's reach but had stopped when he was at her eye level. "You've lost."

"What?" Akane asked indignantly.

Genma who had been watching from the poles was now behind Akane looking at her awkward position and nodded. "Seki, you have won this round."

"That's unfair – I'm not out yet!"

Genma motioned below. Akane looked down. Her right foot was grazing the grass of the meadow. Akane shook her head not willing to admit defeat just yet. She was still not on solid ground. She tried to swing over another step when she found herself on the ground toppled over in an ungainly position staring up at the blue sky.

The remains of the pole she had been clinging to was on her right hand and the small stub of the former fifteen-foot pole was left with Seki standing triumphantly on it. He smiled at her. "I do hate stubborn losers."

"Learning to accept failure is also part of the inauguration, Lady Saotome. It may not be apparent but it is an important lesson that must be taught to all students." Genma held out a hand to her which she accepted. He gave her a boost to get up, and she suddenly realized that the fight had screwed her sense of balance a bit. "We aren't gods. We can die. We can make mistakes."

She shook her head. Yeah right, it's not as if the hell-bent-on-winning Saotomes would actually profess to the world that they could actually lose. "And when has Ranma learned that golden lesson? When has he failed?"

"Do you truly know your husband, Kodachi?" Genma sounded incredulous, as if Akane had missed a blatant fact that everyone else knew. "Ranma's life **has** been about failure. There are more ways to fail than in a fight. Ranma has never made lasting friendships and Ranma hasn't found love, Ranma couldn't save **everyone** he chooses. The reason he has Hanae is that he wasn't able to save her **mother**."

There was a pause, Genma turned to Seki and gave him a coin specially designed to show that he had passed Genma's aerial combat test and signaled his dismissal. The boy frowned, interested in the talk but bowed low and gratefully then accepted a towel and water from his maid. When Genma was sure that he safely couldn't hear what he was going to say he started to lecture Akane again.

"You view him as the children view him, impenetrable, unbeatable and unbreakable." Solid words. Words that Akane had always thought would be what Ranma was all about. "He holds crutches to his side too. The world isn't all about martial arts, and yes, he has a right to excel in it. Haven't you figured it out yet? Being a daimyo, martial arts, it's the **only** thing he knows how to be. **That's** why he's good at it."

Akane opened her mouth to protest but shut it again, finding that she had nothing to say to this man. Having a virtual stranger point out the flaws of her husband was unnerving. This was the first time she had ever heard of an unbiased opinion for the Saotome heir. "How do you know him so well?"

His answer was solemn, "I have a right to know my son, Lady Kodachi."

"**You're** Saotome Tetsuma?" Akane asked incredulously, the thought not sitting well with her initial view of Ranma's father from most of the maid's gossip.

"He's my foster child. He is **not** from my woman," Genma corrected her irritably. She had touched a sore chord, one which had not been opened in quite a while. "I would not tolerate comparison to my brother."

Akane found a touch of resentment there, and maybe a little envy. It was the first time she had heard that Genma was actually the twin's uncle. "But sir... Saotome Tetsuma seemed to be one of the few samurai who, from what I hear, has power over a great deal of Saotome land."

"He is dead, there's not much changing that," Genma muttered. "Excuse me, Lady Kodachi, I'm getting old, and following youngsters on their little battles tend to wear me out easily these days. Please excuse me."

Akane stared at Genma's retreating form. She looked at her bloodied fists and grimaced, his words echoing in her mind, giving her time to think about how many misconceptions she could have had of Ranma.

* * *

Ranma hated the fact that his sister could always predict what he was thinking. It gets on his nerves, especially when he didn't want her to be right. He quickly stripped off of his shirt and tossed it aside. He hadn't been a particular neat freak before and didn't find any advantages to being one right when he was dead tired. 

These ceremonies had him hopping from one end of the castle grounds to the other without breathing room. Sometimes, Happosai thought just because he was fast, he could be everywhere at once. The old idiot was not getting nicer with the years.

He tensed when he sensed someone with him and swiveled around. Akane had been standing in one corner looking at him. "What are you doing in my room?" It was the first thing that came to mind, and though he felt that he should have cared less what she thought, he sensed that she was pained by the sudden demand.

"My room too, my lord." My lord. The word on her lips sounded foreign, submissive. He had never associated the word submissive to his wife before. Not even when she had her bout of 'amnesia'. "My bags have already been unpacked here."

His look swiveled to where she was pointing and found her clothes neatly packed on an alcove beside his own clothes. Besides the few days he had spent alone with her as Ranko, he had not slept with his wife in more than five years. Before he could say anything in protest, he remembered Nabiki telling him that there was an influx of children for the year's inauguration and that he had to share his room with someone.

Nabiki had said she was with their foster father. At the time, he had laughed it off as funny, his predicament was worse. He settled his gaze on Akane. "I'll fix the sleeping arrangements tomorrow."

"Am I that much of a burden to you that you'll not want to stay with me? Your own wife?" she asked softly. She moved slowly placing her arms around his waist.

"What do you want me to do?" Ranma asked in a soft whisper. "I don't have the liberty of forgetting and I don't have the will to forgive you either. Do you seriously expect me to trust you? So soon after this... I could only take so much betrayal."

"But Ranma..." Akane closed her eyes as Ranma gently pushed her away. "I at least expected you to understand the difference between what is happening now, and what happened before. Why can't you even let me try to love you?" She moved her cheek softly against the back of his hand that was placed on her shoulder while her left hand clasped his right hand. "Haven't you even thought about this?"

Ranma paused before silently withdrawing his hands from her. He settled on the corner, his back against her. "Not today. Get your head in the game. You're going to fight tomorrow. There's no room for unnecessary thoughts. Those children are ruthless and they will try to gain **every** bit of advantage over you."

He sensed her long sigh and heard her settle into the futon he had been planning to use. It was resigned, full of the sadness he hadn't associated with her either. Did he truly not know how to read his wife?

He did not move from the corner, the picture of a child sulking, his head bent in introspection, his back towards her. And when he finally decided that much time had passed he turned towards the single futon and looked down at her.

It was in evenings like this that he remembered her betrayal most of all. She was the picture of a perfect little wife wasn't she? He knelt beside her, smoothed the hair away from her face, pulled up her blanket to her chin and sighed. "What am I going to do about you?"

The tiny voice inside of his head answered: You could try loving her.

He shook his head, loving her was something he didn't want to experience again.

* * *

The first thing Sohin did when he arrived at the temple was to check on the boy. Yuki was young, but at seven he looked like he had the world on his shoulders. Already too old for his own years. Unlike his father, Yuki did not carry the lung disease, but he had little memory of his parents.

Everybody had known that the boy was going to get a guardian from one of the temples so Sohin had worked his damndest so that the monks that had reared him would give him Yuki for an assignment. That's why he had chosen that specific monastery to train under. Because he knew the now dead Lord Tendo would choose his son's protector from those ranks.

Sohin knew he would probably be the one to take care of the boy's schooling because of Lady Chisei's dislike for the young heir. "Sohin-san, what has taken you so long?" The boy was shy, reserved.

Kneeling down to look at him in the eye, Sohin gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "I needed to take care of some things in Yokohama. Ifuku sent me to talk to a friend of hers. I bought you something."

The gift was a small top, and Yuki smiled with appreciation. Sohin wondered if he should have bought him a sword instead. Yuki's lessons in sword fighting were moving along, but although he had not inherited his father's sickness, he was still weaker than most boys his age. It was a wonder that he survived trekking half way around the islands as it were. "Thank you, Sohin-san."

Because of the recent actions of the Saotomes, Sohin was unsure of how the Tendos were moving. Lady Chisei has not expressed her want to kill the boy... yet. He sensed that with the Saotomes on her tail, she might want the boy for leverage. "Do you remember what I told you to do if ever we get separated?"

"Go to Ifuku-san. She will hide me from my enemies." Yuki nodded, knowing the gravity of the question, because he had experienced an assassination attempt once. He had a scar above his right eyebrow to remember it by. "Then go to the monastery where Suruga borders Sagami, because they would not look for me there."

"And what happens if you cannot find Ifuku?" Sohin prodded gently.

"Hide among the monks until such a time that I can go home." Yuki looked up at Sohin searching his eyes. "Why are you asking this, Sohin-san? Is there something wrong? Is someone after you again?"

"Nothing yet," Sohin answered standing up from his crouched position. "The feeling of uneasiness that I've had since Ifuku's letter arrived has not left me."

There was a lengthy pause before Yuki took Sohin's hand into his. "Oniisan, if my cousins are still alive. They would be heir instead of me. Eruchii-oniisama would be heir."

Sohin let go of Yuki's hands to lean back against the window while looking at the boy he had been tasked to protect. For seven years he had barely left this boy's side, and he knew that he needed every skill he had learned in the monasteries to protect him. Maybe more. "No, not heir. He would be Liege Lord."

"Lady Chisei does not want me near because I am heir now," Yuki observed bending down to spin the top absentmindedly on the floor. "She must have hated them for who they were. Has she ever been close to finding them?"

Sohin paused, wondering how much the child knew. "Whenever Chisei is close to finding the heirs almost every samurai in the Tendo area is deployed towards them. Rumors say she killed one last year."

"Which one?" Yuki inquired. There was no curiosity in his voice, but a prodding one, something that told Sohin the child was going to be a good leader one day.

"They say they killed the youngest." Sohin closed his eyes. The youngest of the Tendo heirs had been Tendo Akane. The interview with Nabiki was still fresh from his mind.

Yuki looked up from his top and gave Sohin comfort the only way he knew how. "I will remember her."

"You barely knew her. What am I saying? You weren't even born when they were banished. You didn't know her," Sohin reminded Yuki. Then he shook his head. "You always ask these kinds of questions, my lord. I know only rumors about the heirs."

"I don't need to know Akane-noh-Tendo to remember that she is one of the rightful heirs." Yuki sighed then shrugged. "At least you know rumors, I know nothing of them. Will my cousins save me from being heir, oniisan?"

"They should," Sohin mumbled folding his hands over his chest and looking at his charge. "You aren't even prepared to be liege. You hardly have the education a seven year old samurai has."

"Does Eruchii-oniisama know more than I do? He ran away when he was barely ten." Yuki answered thoughtfully, and Sohin wondered if he had offended the boy because of his previous comments. The three heirs were stories told in the Tendo household frequently and reverently, in the houses that were loyal to them. "I would wish he did though."

"I would wish that too, young master." Too much talk about the Tendo heirs could not be good. It drew unwarranted attention to them. "They will appear when they are ready to reclaim what Lady Chisei has taken from them."

"But what if they don't?" Yuki worried. "They have been missing for twenty years. I would think that by this time they thought of a plan already. They aren't getting any younger."

"It's a little bit more complicated that just showing up in front of Lady Chisei's doorstep, you know," Sohin explained ruefully, lifting Yuki from the floor and placing him on his shoulder. "Well, come on, enough chit chat. You have more than your share of lessons to learn. We can't hope that the heirs take you out of your responsibilities every day."

* * *

Because of power-matching, Sei expected that he would see Hanae in the fights, though he calculated that it would happen later rather than ten fights into the tournament. It was just too early for him to face off someone with the same tutor. Most of the hatamoto in charge of these events tried to ward off such mismatches since there were more than sixty participants. However, the two of them had gone on an undefeated streak which was difficult to match with another child holding ten wins zero loses as well. 

Their fight was set on a cliff with sheer drops on both of their backs if they were not careful enough with the fighting space that they occupied. Sei eyed it wearily, though Hanae was adept with fighting at constrained spaces, his cousin tended to get excited over almost wins and sometimes forgot her surroundings. Good for him, but not especially good for her.

He worried for his cousin at the immense risks she took just to get her name accredited as Saotome samurai and at the lengths she'd go to achieve it. Most of the time Hanae was carefree, but she had a particular bite to that childish charm if one knew where to look. Hanae didn't believe in pulling punches and possessed too much independent will to be a team player.

Hanae tapped his shoulder as she sat down beside him, her feet dangling off the sheer drop, appreciatively whistling at the rocks that fell down with each swing. "Do you wish to win this round, Sei?"

Sei shrugged, not really caring either way. They possessed similar skills, he and Hanae. Being trained under one person tended to do that. It was an even match and in their sparring sessions, they each had their victories and their defeats. "Does being Saotome samurai mean much to you, Hanae?"

"It's the only life I've known," Hanae whispered. "And father certainly finds the distinction important."

"What a pair we are," Sei observed in her same hushed tones. "You whose family you have not seen and me whose family has shunned me. We carry a name that is not our own and dance to a tune that we cannot hear."

"I think you get the melodrama from your father's side of the family," Hanae pointed out impishly pulling her hair from the ponytail that held it. "Fighting has always been what I've lived for. It's in the Saotome blood, and that sings out to you doesn't it? Although I've lived more in Saotome than in Amazon soil, the battle drums hum to me. Whatever name I bear I will always be a fighter."

"And you tell me **I'm** melodramatic. I never actually knew fighting was **musical,**" Sei criticized, popping his knuckles distractedly. His comments earned him a solid punch on his upper arm.

"Trying to prove your own worth has always been difficult," Hanae noted reverting to their solemn tone. "Even if they deemed me unfit to grace their soil, I will prove to them that I **can** be the best of this generation just as my mother was the best of **her** generation."

"You haven't told my mother about **your** mother." Sei tilted his head as he watched her tempt death with her acrobatic acts against the small liffside. "What will you do when Matriarch Cologne takes you back?"

"Go with her of course," Hanae answered as if it was the only answer possible for her. She smiled at him. "I love father, yes, but I want to know where my mother comes from. I will not be welcome there, but I will learn."

"I guess that's something we have in common. It's only in Ranma-sama's house that we can belong in," Sei observed, shaking his head. "We're certainly both not welcome in the land of our parents."

"At least Aunt Nabiki is with you," Hanae reminded him gently.

There was that tiny knowledge that he was with his mother. He stared off in space. Saotome children never had the chance to be cherubic faced and giggly as the peasant children he'd often seen playing in the fields. He'd never met a relative who would not deliver a challenge on the spot.

He would have said more, had their referee not joined them. Ryu Kumon was another well-known samurai within the Saotome stronghold. If not because of his status as third in the ranks, then because of the controversy that an outsider holds such a high designation within Saotome territory.

Although Happosai was extremely jealous of other people holding the art, he was not as guarded when it was he who was giving away their trade secrets. He was known for teaching anyone at whim, even those who did not like his attention. Names such as Pantsuto Tarou were rare but well known among a clan that must survive attacks from former pupils of the master.

Ryu greeted them with a formal nod, a very grim man of sorts, Ryu always took things seriously, even small greetings such as this. At Ryu's beckon, both of the children went to him. "Do you want to flick a coin for starting location?" Both combatants shook their head, so Ryu assigned them their places.

When he was sure they were ready he brought down his hand in the signal that would start the fight of the cousins against each other.

When Sei squared off with Hanae, there were no elementary combinations that left them to feel out their opponent. Hanae and Sei knew how each other fought and what each other's weaknesses were. The go signal had them both going for blows each designed to attack the other's weak point.

Hanae smiled. "Not here to win, are you Sei?" she asked nonchalantly as she whirled around to deliver an elbow strike.

Sei swatted that away almost immediately as he replied, "There's nothing wrong with it either, cousin." The two fought each other with immediate familiarity that was brought on by the time they spent together and the mere fact that they trained together. Even their arbiter had to agree that he would be hard pressed to say who could win in such an event.

Sei's advantage was his analytical mind and an almost impeccable memory that served him well when thinking up of counter strikes to majority of what Hanae threw at him. What he lacked in creativity, he compensated for with deadly accuracy. Sei analyzed Hanae many times before and had come up with much of the same conclusions he had earlier, that she lacked finesse in her fighting and was certainly not as strong as he was. Though Sei found her lacking in the two, she made up for it with instinctive skill that usually made him lose five out of ten. Not good odds, but not a bad one either.

"Frustrated yet?" Hanae asked as she tried striking with her knee towards his midsection, while he evaded that by using her propped knee as bars and flipped over her trying to deliver several blows to the head which she all avoided.

Hits and misses were common when fighting each other because they knew each other so well. Frustration was also a very common emotion. "On the contrary, I just need one blow to level you off."

She smiled as she stepped back from his fists, knowing that Sei wouldn't go for one blow to finish the fight. Sei made a sweep at her feet and as she jumped to fend the attack off, caught her in an arm lock. She winced in pain as Sei applied more pressure to her arms fully understanding that there were few options left to her at that point.

Escaping from one of Sei's hold would be rather tricky, especially since Hanae was of smaller stature than he was. However, they were at a standstill, without rendering her unconscious, Hanae was still in the game, and Hanae would not give up even if there was substantial pain involved.

"Save us both the trouble and wave your white flag, Hanae," Sei taunted, his grip was tight with every second still squeezing tighter against Hanae's arms.

Hanae smiled then twisted around delivering a swift kick directly to Sei's face, Sei swung back to avoid it, dragging Hanae stumbling with him. He placed his free hand on her throat, a definite indication of a death blow.

With that, Ryu lifted his two fingers to his lips to call that match an end. As the cousins disentangled, Ryu handed Sei a small token indicative of the win. He bowed towards Ryu and then when Hanae was fully up bowed to her as well.

He went towards the sidelines where his attending maid handed him the thin reed necklace he had strung the tokens on. Letting the latest one join the other three, he secured it around his neck.

"A good match, cousin," Hanae complimented him as she too took the necklace that she had given her maid for safeguarding. Traditionally, those that accompanied the young samurai around the contests were their official foster mothers, Sei had his, but since 'Ranko' was running with the higher samurai tests, Hanae was provided for with one of the older maids in the Saotome household. "What does the next test do anyway, even the maids there are held under oath and towards the end, no maids are allowed at all."

"Certainly secret enough so that new minds won't be bored by it," Ryu berated as he watched the two children take their belongings to wait for their next matches in their respective rooms. "Hurry to your rooms. The next matches are in half a stick and you'll want to get all the rest you need.

* * *

Akane pressed a cool cloth onto a bleeding nose. She winced at the contact of the white cloth against her almost broken nose and sighed. She had not thought that potentially maiming blows were part of the competition. 

The girl, Miyu apologized profusely afterwards, and the pain was only dulled by the fact that she had won that small round of hell. That happened yesterday and her nose **still** gave off a small trickle of blood when she managed to jar it a little in her sleep. She sighed as she flexed her muscles when Nabiki entered the room handing her another cold compress. "You're doing well for someone who's older than the rest of the children."

"Thanks." Akane said sarcastically. She didn't need Nabiki to remind her that she was at least ten years older than most of the children she was fighting against. Ranma and Nabiki had both finished the particular competition when they had been sixteen and almost fifteen years previous. "I thought senior samurai and acolyte aren't allowed to talk to each other."

"Hardly the case when you practically live in my brother's bed chamber. I'm invoking the short truce that I promised myself that I'd give you when Ranma actually permitted you to enter this power-match." Nabiki stretched a little, her hair was bound together in a high pony tail and she was wearing a red Chinese shirt which she and Ranma frequented using. "Besides how am I going to impart little tidbits of knowledge to you? You'd think these kids would let up sometime."

"That's what I thought as well," Akane groused as she looked distastefully at the soaking pieces of cloth that she had discarded for mopping up her nose. "God, your youngsters really are ruthless."

"It's a rather ruthless world," Nabiki commented flippantly as she sat down unceremoniously on one of the zabutons. "Nothing else cleanses the soul as well as getting the hell kicked out of you."

Akane wondered if Nabiki was deliberately baiting her or was testing the waters. "There is that."

"Actually, I've been sent to notify you of your final rights," Nabiki informed her, tossing over a scroll towards Akane, who had dropped the soggy kerchief she had been holding against her face as she caught the scroll in its lazy arc. She looked surprised, she should be. No one really knew of their own progress in these games, there were never charts of the wins and losses except those in the older samurai's possession and speaking about wins and losses were as much as taboo as it was speaking to the elder samurai. "Be early. If there's one thing that Happosai hates, it's when one of the inductees is late. It ruins the entire schedule."

Akane broke open the seal and quickly went over the contents her eyes widening at the time stated there. She looked up at Nabiki who was watching her reaction closely. Clearing her throat before speaking, Akane said slowly, "This in four hour- sticks."

"I know." Unwinding a thick black bandanna from her forearm, Nabiki held it out to Akane. "It's a blind fold. No one gets past this level without being blindfolded. You're supposed to swear an oath as well."

"Oath?" Akane repeated uncertainly, picking up the neatly folded cloth Nabiki was extending towards her, while being extremely grateful that the bleeding from her injuries had stopped. "What does it say?"

"Read your entire missive, Lady Saotome. You might just understand what it's about," Nabiki suggested straightening from her zabuton and looking at Akane expectantly. "This is one of your final tests as a samurai. I'm not going to get my brother lose his face because the samurai he has recommended for further training is not worth the effort."

"I... solemnly swear, not to divulge any of the proceedings hereafter." Akane looked up from the scroll, feeling Nabiki's gaze on her. Nabiki gave a small nod to show that she had been doing right so far. "Failure to do so would mean nullification of my status. So help me God."

"Well then, Lady Saotome, you've now been sworn the rights of induction," Nabiki told her as she took the blindfold from Akane's hands and wrapped it around Akane's eyes. Next she touched a cool hand against Akane's forehead. "Clarity of the mind, speed of thought, and skill with fighting. May you posses all three with the path you're going to take."

As the words washed over her, Akane felt that she had been dropped in the middle of darkness. The kerchief around her eyes had rendered her blind, but the words Nabiki had said took away some of the keen instinct she had about the room and its contents. "What just happened?"

"From here on you would not address any samurai who is not talking to you, and even then you must remain dutifully respectful," Nabiki instructed in a stern voice as she took Akane's hand leading her towards what Akane assumed to be the exit of her room. "You have been rendered blind, and even ki-sense of the area is not allowed. You have your other senses to guide you."

-

The sun was still early on its ascent, and since the first messengers about the final rights happened before the sun could fully come out behind the horizon, it was still early when Nabiki led Akane to the start of the path on a test that promised to take almost the entire day. There was no way that they could actually finish this in just four hours, no matter how fast Akane was, without jumping up the mountains.

Most of the students who came earlier for this part of the inauguration had already started to climb. From the entire time table that the elder samurai studied early that morning, she knew that Ranma was about half way up, depending on the speed of the student under him.

Nabiki frowned, of all the things the inauguration entailed it was the particular task at hand that she did not like as a hatamoto. Going up an entire mountain and then trekking the entire way down again, or taking the much dangerous plummet down was never something that she enjoyed doing.

She turned to Akane who was following the sound of her clapping from her rooms to the base of the mountains. Another thing that she had absolutely hated when **she** was the one with the blindfold. Following sound was not one of the best ways to understand that there was a tree root or a small thorny bush in your path. "Ready, Akane?"

"You mean we're just starting?" Akane replied sarcastically, both hands out in front of her, the very picture of the blind seeking her way. The 'Nabiki-sama' that came later was belated and more as a testament to Akane's stubborn pride than respect. Nabiki didn't correct her.

Although Nabiki was not supposed to let Akane get into any trouble before she reached the top, leading a blind person was not the easiest of jobs when all she was allowed to give were sounds.

"Barely," Nabiki allowed. There were brutal rules for samurai leading people like Akane. First of which was that if they ever held their hands to lead them, it had to be a harsh drag rather than a slow pull. Nabiki took Akane's hand since they were already going on a much steeper slope that a blind person would not fare well without more guidance than a sound, jerking her towards the path before letting her go. "You are aware that the donjon is on a flat piece of land on the Kanto Mountain, yes?"

When Akane nodded, Nabiki continued, "The mountain is part of a long mountain range, one of which we will climb today. This is far from village so that the villagers don't get to meddle in this business. It's the reason why you had to walk as far as you did. The Yakuoin Temple is situated father along, closer to Lord Happosai's fortress. We're starting a climb up in a different direction, so that we don't disturb worship at the temple. We're at the base, where the slope is starting to grow steeper."

When Nabiki finished saying that, two other hatamoto greeted her, they looked at Akane for identification and nodded. The proceedings from here onwards were so secret that even the trainees who want to participate in the inauguration don't know of the test. It was secret enough for samurai who has not participated in the test not to know of it.

They nodded to let her through. "Ranma has a head start," one of them said. "He might be at the base before you send this one flying."

Akane did not understand the exchange, and Nabiki tugged her on before she could comprehend it. True enough, the pathway did become steeper as they progressed. Nabiki was a capable handler and prevented most of her trips, but she did manage a few surprised shouts when she was stepping off rocks, realizing that the ground beneath it was deeper than what she expected. Nabiki never touched her unless absolutely necessary and barked out commands in the most curt of tones.

The pathway was not as tiresome as most mountain paths were. There were no sheer cliffs that she was required to climb with the blindfold and there were no too steep slopes that would send her tumbling back down. If Nabiki deemed the slope too dangerous for Akane to walk with a blindfold, she let the girl down on all fours.

By what Akane determined to be midday, she was profusely drenched with her own sweat, her temperature rose a few degrees, her throat screaming for water and her cheeks were definitely gaining the pink tinge of both exhaustion and sunburn.

"Let's stop here," Nabiki declared as they reached a small plateau designated as the halfway point of the entire trek. It had been picked out because of the small pools of springs cropping out from the rocks and because it was flat enough and large enough for the younger samurai not to fall off the edges.

A small ladle, brought by one of the earlier samurai lay atop one of the rocks covered by a small white towel. Wiping the wooden ladle, Nabiki dipped it in one of the covered pools and brought it to Akane's lips. "Drink."

Akane gulped the water down thirstily, finishing it almost instantly. Nabiki offered three more scoops before her thirst was even closely sated. When Nabiki sure that Akane took all the water that she could, she dipped the ladle a final time for a drink herself.

Nabiki shielded her eyes from the sun that suddenly peeked out of the clouds. Higher up in the mountains, the clouds moved faster giving shade in a moments notice and abandoning them when the wind blows the feathery wisps away. Even though Nabiki made the trip countless of times because of the inauguration, she always stopped to admire the rays of light filtering through the cottony clouds chasing the darkness around as it moved. "We're halfway to our destination, Lady Akane. Will you continue? Remember, this offer comes only **once**, and because you have taken this, if you fail this test you may **never** try out again."

Akane searched for Nabiki's voice moving her head side to side until she got a tentative location of where she was standing and faced her off. Nabiki waved at the great expanse before her, even though Akane didn't see the gesture. Nabiki closed her eyes feeling the wind through her hair and then smiled. This little task had always put her in a better mood for the rest of the ceremonies. "I'll tell you what my guide told me when my lungs were burning from exhaustion, my skin an angry red from the sun and my throat parched dry: Some people succeed because they are destined to, but most people succeed because they are determined to. This is your determination, Lady Akane, we are half way through the top, and we haven't even scaled the worst of what is to come."

"I'm determined to finish this," Akane answered with resolve. "I will not let myself fail."

"There, you're halfway to finishing the battle," Nabiki reassured her. Not that the battle was going to be any easier from this way on. The Kanto mountain range wasn't a peak so there was standing room on the top but the heat was prickly and muscles screamed for release. Not to mention the emotional trauma and physical abuse most of them would still undertake before the entire ordeal was over. "If you finish this alive, I swear, you should talk to Ranma about what **he** did when he went up this trip. That story has gone on to the most amusing anecdotes for this piece of test **ever**."

The thoughts that went through inside Akane's head were far what Ranma did at the time. Her mind was blank from exhaustion. The mantra that repeated over and over in her head was, 'After this, there would be no more of the torture and mind games'.

Thinking of nothing made the time pass swiftly, her actions relegated to the most basic and even the most automatic, leaving no thought to discomfort or weariness. Her straining muscles gave in to her demands, and though her movement sometimes faltered they were moving towards their destination. She was even beginning to think that not talking to Nabiki was a blessing in disguise, reserving her lungs for the much needed air supply.

After some time, Nabiki brought Akane directly in front of one of the sheer drops, some meters away from where Happosai was. Although he couldn't be seen and couldn't be heard from the way she had positioned Akane. She flipped the blindfold Akane had in one movement and handed it back to Akane. "I thought you'd show some resistance. You can't even follow the simplest of instructions can you? You're supposed to be BLIND for this entire test."

"You were the one who –"

"Are you talking back to me?" Nabiki raised her voice slightly angling her eyebrow in an insulted expression. "You do realize that the **only** reason you're here is my brother don't you?"

"Well excuse me. I wasn't the one who wanted to enter this stupid inauguration in the first place!" Akane shouted in exasperation. "You guys are absolutely crazy, you tell me something positive one leg of this ascent and you tell me something **completely** opposite the next!"

"Well maybe we should just send you back. A Saotome samurai not willing to do **everything** for the art is not a Saotome samurai at all," Nabiki rebuked as her gaze swept over Akane in slow assessment. A long pause passed before Nabiki moved again. "Don't even think about leaving that spot, if Happosai thinks you're still worthy after this small show of arrogance he'll come for you. Else, I'm taking you back down."

With those words, Nabiki left Akane openmouthed at the edge of a small platform on top of a large cliff where no other person could be seen with the immediate vicinity. 'Damned samurai. Damned Saotomes. Godamnit, what the hell am I doing?'

Waiting for Happosai was not something that she had anticipated. And Nabiki's words rang loud about her possibility of not being chosen. She closed her eyes. 'What would Ranma say if I won't pass this test, just because I wasn't able to hold on to a stupid BLINDFOLD?' She hadn't thought the blindfold was important.

Everything reminded her of secret cults or even close to both physical torture and emotional stress of fraternities. Wondering how long she was going to have to stay in place, she was startled by a strong scream coming from her left. Her head whipped towards that direction, though all she could see was the mountains, and she suddenly realized just how long she had climbed, and just how far she was from the bottom.

She started to go after the voice when she felt something holding her in place. When she looked down she saw Happosai keeping her still with his pipe pinned to her shoe. Dead tired and on top of the mountain she had not thought she could climb, Akane faced off with the grand master of Anything Goes, the founder of the school and smiled at the thought that she could not meet the man eye to eye.

"Aren't we going to find out –" He cut her off with the wave.

It was their first meeting and Akane was instantly harboring suspicion that a man that came merely to her knees could not wield the power that he claimed. He gave her a toothy grin, one which she could not stand nor could she appreciate for its certain oily quality.

"You'll know soon enough what that was about. I would have loved to spare you of such misery, but there are limits to which tradition could be bended," Happosai explained as he appraised her lightly. Akane wondered just how much he was willing to bend for her anyway. "Take a look behind you."

Akane took a peek and nearly fell straight to certain death if Happosai's pipe had not caught her belt as a hook, anchoring her to the mountain top. Akane turned back to look at Happosai. They were at the peak of the mountain, it was not windy so the two of them could stand, but on either side she could see the vastness of the land that spilled to show Kamakura.

If she had not been deathly afraid for her life, Akane would have marveled at the view. "Has Ranma shown you the view from Serpent's Bluff in Rose Brier?" There was a negation and Happosai tapped his pipe against his palm. "You should ask him of it. Serpent's Bluff shows just what your husband holds. It is the symbol of the reach of his influence and the magnitude of his power. This on the other hand, is part of mine."

He flicked his hand with a possessive sweep of the plains that surrounded them, and though the entire prefecture of what will be Kanto region in her time was not shown by such a small view, she was given the first glimpse of a little of Edo. Maybe a small part of Kanagawa and a large view of Tokyo Bay. The mountain range stretched up northward, towards Honshu.

There was something to be said about being on top of the world, looking at the distance that you've just labored over to get there. From her vantage point, the fact that she was dusty, hot and tired was compensated by the rare view of the deep waters and the rolling fields. Two birds flew by one after the other in a chase off the sweeping land.

"The remarkable thing about the human mind is its range of limitations," Happosai intoned after he gave her a while to digest what he had just said. She looked back at him uncomprehending. "Let's find out your limitations. The Kanto mountain range is very wide, and you did not pass by the Yakuoin Temple on your way up here."

Nabiki had informed her of it when climbing up, although now that she had more time to think about it, she vaguely recalled the shrine as one that represents the "Tama" area of the mountains, and was probably busy enough to have more than their share of worship even in this particular time. That meant they were high up enough for her not to see the immediate bottom, and a plain nowhere near enough for her to drop dead where people could see. Just the perfect secluded spot for some of the more eccentric things Happosai practiced with his disciples.

"I'm giving you two choices. You can go back down the way you came. It would be tiring but it would be relatively easy. You would walk with your heavy and numb legs back with the way you came. However, you may never fight using Anything Goes again. You will renounce Anything Goes and its use and you will forever forget that you were given this chance," Happosai elaborated pointing back to the long spindly road downwards. "You see the difficulty in being among the best, my dear. All the others who practice Anything Goes are weeded out through this one test. If they never get up the mountain, they can still enjoy practicing the art, but now you are given an ultimatum."

"What's my other choice?" Akane asked distastefully, suddenly knowing why there had been screams before hers. Battle cries even. Because of this moment, every Saotome child was handed down a path that no Saotome child ever wanted to take... to forsake the art.

"Fall down the mountain for me," Happosai answered toothily as he peered down the depths that she would fall. He picked up one of the rocks in his hands and let it sail past her waiting for the seconds until it thudded down the bottom. "Do you trust me enough to push you over the edge?"

"You do realize that every bit of you Saotome people are crazy, right?" Akane demanded as she stared down at the rather endless fall she was facing if she ever wanted to be samurai.

"I'm eccentric," Happosai corrected with a wave of his pipe. "That's one adjective more than I can permit. Wouldn't your husband be so ashamed if you didn't see to your rights?"

"He would be happy to see me dead!" Akane protested as she motioned to the certain death that waited for her below. "Are you crazy? No one would jump off this mountain for you."

"No one?" Happosai repeated, he laughed as he hopped by his little peak in the mountain lighting his pipe. "Are you sure? I never permit hatamoto, let alone daimyo, who have not undertaken such a similar exercise. Let me assure you. ALL samurai in the upper echelons of power have undertaken this. You've seen how much damage my samurai can take. Have you seen Ranma fall down from a cliff carrying three women? I've seen him SURVIVE such a fall. Of course there are the few unfortunate ones like... say that one that came before you... the one you were worried about. "

Akane stared at him agape, wondering just how much of that she could believe and realizing that Happosai could not be lying to her. She suddenly made the connection of the scream she had heard from his arrival to one of the inductees before her. They were goddamned serious to drop them off the mountain. It wasn't just any sheer drop. It wasn't a cliff that was 'maybe' taller than a tree. It was an entire mountain.

"Ranma survived that fall with a few fractures. You're telling me **you** can't?" Happosai jeered while he puffed out smoke at her face. "Certainly Ranma must have thought you would pass this trial if he volunteered your presence in this affair. You who aren't even Saotome samurai by birth."

"Why do this?" Akane argued, viciously taking a step forward, a little of the few steps that she could take. "If I was going to fall, why save me earlier when I would have thought it was a mere accident?"

"And waste good samurai blood on such **accidents**?" Happosai shrugged. "Surely jumping down on purpose has more fun in it than accidentally dying. At least you have a choice in the matter. Do not worry, Lady Akane, after the fall, I promise you'd be taken care of. No matter how many fractures you have. "

"I don't want to do this," Akane pleaded as she looked back down at certain death and back to Happosai again. "What else can be done?"

"Renounce the Saotome name," Happosai demanded. He never did anything by half measure and his ultimatums were clearly that, a demand for her absolute loyalty. "It's the only other recourse if you do not want to take the plunge. I'll push you if you want. Trust me, my dear."

"What the-"

"I remember someone wise saying this once... I pride Saotome tradition on giving our samurai two lasting bequests: one is roots." He smiled, hefting his small pipe, then using it quite skillfully and with little apparent effort, he pushed her off the edge of the peak. "The other is wings. I hope you won't be so scared of meeting the end, my dear. You accepted that push rather well."

Akane flew off quite a distance from the mountain. At another time, she could have wondered at the sheer strength of a mere pipe to throw her with enough velocity to resist the pull of gravity for a few seconds.

However, the almost instantaneous drop claimed her full attention, and she screamed for all it was worth.

* * *

Although parents of the samurai children to be tested were almost always on the stronghold when the inauguration began, they were not allowed to partake in much of the activities unless they had passed the same test as well. So Nodoka didn't have much of a choice but to stay in the sidelines and wait for her grandchildren's turn to finish before she could speak to them. Much as what the other parents were doing.

She went inside one of the dining rooms which were perpetually serving food for the children who were dead tired and extremely hungry from their bouts and sat down to drink a cup of tea when Genma sat down opposite her.

"I didn't expect to see you here." He had a jug of sake on one hand which was tied around his fist. Nodoka tried not to turn away her head in distaste but he caught her small sign of displeasure and frowned. "When was it that you grew to hate me, Nodoka?"

"I don't hate you Genma," Nodoka answered, which Genma didn't quite believe, especially since he could not get her to talk to him beyond the 'polite' questions she posed. She asked one question now, "How is your drinking problem?"

He had to hand it to the woman. She didn't believe in dulling that sharp tongue of hers. Nabiki learned from a master. "I don't drink anymore."

"I take it you don't drink any less either?" Nodoka said raising an eyebrow at the sake jar that he was tugging along. She wondered why he had brought the vile liquid when he knew he was going to be needed as supervisor almost the entire day. "You haven't changed much."

"This isn't sake. I see you haven't forgiven me yet," Genma said solemnly untying the jar from his wrist and leaving it on the low table that was in between the two of them. "I don't even understand **why** you're angry with me when you're the one who married someone else."

"Don't bring your brother into this," Nodoka whispered closing her eyes for composure. For someone whose will Genma hardly ever saw waver, this was a surprise. "He doesn't deserve to be brought into petty quarrels."

"You got your wish didn't you?" Genma answered bitterly. "You married into the Saotome name, your children holds Nerima, Ranma is heir and you even manage to take the Twin Dragons - it's Rose Brier now isn't it? Trust a Kuno to give it a sissy name."

"Don't blame me for losing that estate of yours to the Kunos," Nodoka shot back at him. Nodoka had always had a very rigid sense of justice. He just never thought she would think he blamed her for the loss of the Twin Dragon and its subsequent renaming it to Rose Brier. "You lost that in a bet."

If memory served him correctly, he had bet because the imbecile Kochou had managed to kidnap **her** at that time. Still, he had been the one who lost it in a gamble. He just didn't think that its loss would also cost him her hand in marriage. "Oh you're the smart one aren't you? You knew right after I lost the land that I would be stripped of all holdings and then granted to Tetsuma. You were gone the next second. You married him in less than a year."

"Don't tell me you agonized over that, Genma." Nodoka said calmly. She took another sip of her tea before she continued, "Surely you wouldn't profess your undying love. Not when you visited a brothel every night that you were engaged to me."

"You knew about that?" Genma asked in surprise. The steel in Nodoka's eyes was answer enough. 'She never mentioned a thing when I could do something about it and now she throws it on my face! Nearly thirty years later!'

"God, you don't even try to cover up your liaisons, don't you?" Nodoka said in disgust. Nodoka was the picture of every self-righteous woman. She looked more angry than hurt, yet deep down, Genma understood why she was bringing this up. She wanted to know why he had cheated on her.

Genma's heart constricted, because even though they had broken up their engagement, he had missed her terribly. "Nodoka..." he said softly reaching for her hand, she snatched it away before he could touch her, but he looked up to meet her eyes. "Nodoka, the reason why I went there every night was that my father's illegitimate daughter was there. I was the one who took care of her until she died. If you had asked Tetsuma, he would have confirmed it. Ask Happosai, he knew about her."

Because Nodoka was proud, she didn't say the words that clawed at her heart with the confession. She hadn't even blinked when she had been handed the argument that would have pushed for her to marry Genma years ago. To push for her to wait. "You lie."

"Why would I lie to you now?" Genma asked incredulously he motioned at himself. "I'm old, I'm close to dying, Nodoka. Granted I may have a few years left, but why would I lie about that to you? I didn't believe it when my brother's emissary had sent your wedding invitation. To **him** no less. No word, no explanation. Nodoka, you left me out there to dry. If I had known you were marrying me for the fiefdom, I would have spared you all the trouble and given to you all those years ago instead of you **whoring** yourself to him."

The slap that had come, Genma believed, was well deserved. Nodoka glared at him before she mustered an answer, "I see where Ranma's foot-in-mouth complex comes from. You disgust me."

Genma snapped his head back to attention. "Then tell me Nodoka. Why **had** you married my brother? Why **did** you drop me off when I didn't have a penny to my name?"

"You don't even have the right to know the answer to that." Nodoka shook her head imperiously, her anger was quickly hidden. Her face was smooth and expressionless once again. "Did you give me time to defend myself, Genma? Where did you go when you lost to Kuno?"

"Happosai sent me on a training trip. It had been punishment. No one knew but him," Genma explained, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. He paused for a moment, letting his words sink in before he continued again, in a softer tone. "I deserve a reason, Nodoka. Tell me at least why you married my brother."

"Because you were missing, you idiot." Nodoka cursed in a low voice. "You were missing for more than a year and I was pregnant."

She closed her eyes instinctively when she had fallen off the mountain. Akane was not afraid of heights, but there was fear when she had toppled off the peak. Akane had her share of broken bones and sprains, and did not relish the fact that she was plummeting down an extremely high mountain, which by her standards, survival was even doubtful.

Maybe years of training **could** have prepared her for the fall, as what Happosai was implying Ranma had done, but she distinctly remembered that a fall off the roof in their old house had given her a couple of broken bones. She did **not** want to contemplate a fall off a mountain which was definitely more than ten times higher than the roof of her house.

The whizzing of the air as she fell down grew louder in her ears, an addition to her growing fright. She could not have been accelerating, but she was gaining velocity and she certainly did **not** want to see the moment that her head connected with the solid ground beneath.

And although Akane half expected to be caught, the feeling of arms gently securing her against a solid masculine chest came as a relief. It was comforting to know that though the entire Saotome bunch seemed crazy, they did not go about pushing people out of tall mountains in random pursuit of happiness.

She felt the first impact of her rescuer against the swaying branches of the tree that he rebounded against. He took a few more branches before he landed safely down at a velocity that was passable to her stomach's standards. Compared to free fall she experienced, this was a small lull.

She was set down gently opening the eyes she had not wanted to open even amidst her small rescue. Blinking a couple of times to get her eyes adjusted to the sunlight contrasting the dark environment, she was mildly surprised to find other competitors on the ground with Ranma leaning against one of the tree stumps.

"Do you know the purpose of that exercise?" Ranma asked looking at her seriously.

"Finding out how reckless Saotome samurai are?" Akane answered off handedly shielding her eyes from the sunlight and then blinking at the distance she fell. She could barely see the top of that godforsaken mountain. It was already mid-afternoon. That meant she climbed the rocks for a good deal of the day. She felt her bones aching in protest.

"Wrong answer," Ranma said sternly. "What was the purpose of your fall?"

Akane looked at Ranma to notice that he asked the question with seriousness she thought he did not possess. She noted that the children who underwent the same trail were all looking at her expectantly, wanting to know how long it was before she supplied the answer that Ranma was waiting to hear. "I honestly don't know."

"Use your head. You were asked something before you were thrown down here," Ranma prompted, he did not move to offer her help as she tried to sit down, resting her aching feet from the difficulty of standing. "Why would that question be important here?"

"I can't-" She paused, although there was something eerily familiar about the entire ordeal. She opened her mouth, but the look Ranma gave her shut it again. "That I should stand up after I fall?"

"Not quite." Ranma smiled, it was the first one she's seen since he fought her over Hanae's tutelage. "Can't you remember what Happosai asked you before you ended down here?"

"He told me to trust him." Akane shuddered rubbing her arms. "Right before he told me he was pushing me to certain death."

"Trust, even at certain death is what Happosai demands of all of his elite samurai." Ranma motioned towards the children that were watching. "If you pass all tests it will include all of you."

Someone shrugged. "I think I've learned all I can from this little tournament."

Ranma laughed as he looked at one of the other samurai who was looking up from the tree branch to catch the next samurai child to be tested. They worked on rotation so that no child was missed. However, the next child's session with Happosai seemed to be extending since Ryu was still waiting. Therefore, Ranma was still permitted to talk. "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts."

He paused to let the boy mull that over and then told him something he learned from Cologne a long time ago, "Out of respect of the things I was never destined to do, I have learned that my strengths are a result of my weaknesses, my success is due to my failures and my style is directly proportional to my limitations."

A long shout of surprise interrupted whatever Ranma was going to say next.

"Here comes the next one!" Ryu shouted from the top as he rebounded off the tree to reach the falling child at a higher velocity. The moves required for such actions were precise and accurate that only the younger high level samurais were allowed to help with the proceedings.

Ranma frowned, although he underwent a similar test it was not one of the best experiences he had and didn't like recalling much of what happened on the mountain, or even after the fall. He had been so deep in thought that when Nabiki, who had been waiting in the sidelines tapped him, he was mildly surprised at her presence.

To improve efficiency of the entire guide-trainee exercise at the top of the mountain, a large diagonal rope was tied in large segments in which a samurai could use a very thick cloth to hang on to the rope and slide down with it. It was a quick and established route, especially since some of their shifts were bordering on overlapping each other for the guide and rescue duties.

"I'm due for this round, you better rest," Nabiki whispered, keeping a thick cloth that she had used to slide along the mountain. She motioned to the children who were already being led away by one of the older samurai. "Take your wife to your room. Tomorrow she's going to have to take part of that long winded ceremony."

Absentmindedly, Ranma nodded taking note that Akane was already following the rest of the children that were being led away. Taking her arm, he steered he off towards the shorter path towards the rooms, skipping the long winding paths that the children were taking.

Akane yelped at the sudden tug at her arm, but let it pass when she realized it was Ranma. Though they had been talking and were acting civilly, he was still angry at her for reasons she still didn't understand. She smiled trying to lighten up the situation. "You enjoy watching us squirm don't you. You honestly enjoy teaching those kids the hard way."

"There's no other way to learn," Ranma defended himself, as he looked up towards the sky. "There are no second chances in fighting for your life. You have to make decisions and there are consequences. The inauguration just isn't there to find out about your skill in fighting, it tests your level of willingness to work inside the clan."

"How did you do in yours?" Akane asked, wondering what Ranma had done at Happosai's demand of absolute fealty and the push towards almost certain doom.

"I probably took the longest. Ever." Ranma frowned looking over his shoulder to see the looming form of the solid rock that the mountain that all the children had climbed and fallen off. "I've always had the urge to do things better than everybody else. That was the reason I persisted climbing that damned mountain after I knew my body was way past its endurance levels."

"You were sixteen," Akane recounted from stories told before. They were one of the youngest ever to partake in the inaugural tasks. Most of the children she had been with were in their early twenties or their late teens. Children younger than eighteen usually were eliminated very early on and asked to try again. "Younger than most."

"Not really," Ranma countered as he pointed to the steady line of participants filing out of the forest from their view. "Seki is sixteen, and I think good enough to pass the advanced ranks. There are about ten children this year below twenty though I think only Seki and another girl will get inaugurated for the special title. No one over twenty three tries for the tests. Not until you anyway."

"That's a very short window of opportunity, seeing that this is held every five years. You don't participate if you don't think you can win," Akane criticized, looking at the determined group. "I hoped that it would take two tries."

"It only takes one," Ranma corrected. "After the entire mountain ordeal I thought I wasn't going to make it to the fifteen children to advance. It was a surprise that I was given the invitation the next day on those serial fights to test who was going to train me for advanced lessons."

"What ever did you do on that mountain?" Akane asked incredulous. It didn't seem that big a deal that he would consider being eliminated.

"I fought Happosai for the fall." Ranma smirked as he remembered the fight. "The old man is good, but damn, if I just had something to distract him, I would have won. NOBODY has ever dropped from that mountain with eyes wide open. Maybe halfway through but towards the bottom, hopelessness kind of settles in. I was probably the most stubborn in that too. I even fought with the guy who was going to catch me. Pops was so mad that my eyes were still open **and** that I had to be caught as I broke through the bamboo. **That** was nasty business I **really** could have died if one of those long stalks had broken and pierced some internal organ."

Akane stopped from walking and Ranma had to turn back to give her a questioning look. Akane shook her head. "You mean to tell me that you actually had a SPINE when you were younger?"

Ranma winced at the way she had put it. They had all changed after the years, it was hard not to. But obedience towards Happosai had come gradually with time, especially since their sworn oaths. "I had to stop being a boy at my inauguration. I have an entire fief to worry about. What would happen to Nerima if their daimyo was hated by their liege?"

He stopped then frowned. "I shouldn't be telling you this much. Most of the talk between samurai is forbidden during the inaugural period."

"Sorry," Akane apologized as she moved along to catch up with him.

"You're tired," Ranma noted after looking at her walk towards him, noticing the mechanical movement and the frown on her face. He squatted and then motioned for her to get on his back. "Come on, I'll carry you to our room."

Akane looked skeptically at the offer of the ride. Her body was aching from the strain of the climb. Even if most of the children were experienced with strenuous activities this particular one still took its toll on them. Ranma himself admitted having difficulty when he had tried it the first time. "I don't know."

"This offer will expire in a while," Ranma warned, impatient. He also didn't like the fact that anyone could walk in on them and see his position.

Exhaustion winning over, Akane climbed on Ranma's back. This was not the time for false dignity. She was barely coordinated as it was. When she was settled on his back, she pressed her forehead onto the back of his shoulder and whispered, "Thanks."

If he heard it or not, he didn't say as he moved from the main forest floor towards the trees, easily jumping from one tree to the other.

-

Nabiki handed over Ranma a formal scroll as he eyed it in distaste while he followed the power-matching lines in the middle of tabulation room where all of the results from the competitions were tallied and matched up against each other. Whether it was in the junior level as Hanae and Sei were in or the more competitive Advanced training in which Akane was in.

"What? It's not as if it wasn't obvious your wife was going to topple over the edge of that particular mountain." Nabiki snorted as she pushed the scroll to Ranma's chest before sitting on one of the zabutons provided for the hatamoto that were allowed inside the room. "That event has changed little from when we were on top of that goddamned mountain and it always requires the same things. Happosai finding the fifteen best, getting them up agonizingly over that tall obstacle, having someone scare the hell out of them because of the bandanna, having them equally scared by Happosai, pushing them down and finally when said someone has almost reached the treetops eyes closed, one samurai jumping to their rescue." It was a synchronized effort for the most part that took as much effort on the samurai on guard as well as the one jumping off the mountain.

Ranma scowled at her as he twirled the scroll around his fingers. "You **know** I hate that exercise to the core. Almost every kid down there was shivering from fright."

"You included huh, you big baby," Nabiki teased, raising her eyebrows. Ranma wasn't mistaken though. Some children have considered quitting after a traumatic experience such as that. There was this one incident some years ago where a girl of nineteen locked herself up in one of the dungeons and kept banging her head against the grills crying. It had been extremely messy and thankfully, Ranma was able to sweet talk her out of trying to commit suicide - and definitely not the ritual kind.

"Put that eyebrow down," Ranma ordered, pointing at Nabiki, eyes narrowed to slits.

"You've managed the enraged father role well. Now let's see if I can," Nabiki answered coolly as she pointed to the door. "Go to your room and give that to your wife, you hear? And don't come out until it's properly delivered."

He opened his mouth in protest but she lifted another eyebrow again and Ranma found himself too tired to argue with someone as stubborn as Nabiki. "Yes, **mom**."

-

Ranma found Akane in their shared room nursing the multitude of cuts and bruises she had incurred over the week. She looked up when he entered the room and thumbed one of her more prominent bruises.

"I admire your first aid skills in this little tourney," Akane marveled as she winced when she hit a tender spot while applying the salve. "God, I don't know how long I could have survived without knowing anything medicinal other than the bottled type. And I don't see any drugstores nearby."

He paused for a moment to think of a reply to that but found that he couldn't, especially when he didn't know what half of her sentence meant. Deciding that it didn't matter, he brought out her invitation and handed it to her. She looked at it wearily as she accepted it then looked at Ranma.

"Congratulations are in order," Ranma declared as he sat down across Akane. "You're ranked tenth."

She looked at him with a hint of doubt as she broke the seal to the scroll and scanned its contents. When she finally reached the pronouncement that confirmed Ranma's words she rushed to give him a hug. "Isn't it wonderful? I thought I'd barely make it to the fifteenth."

Uncomfortable at her show of affection, and certainly not knowing what to do with her, Ranma sat rigidly not attempting to disentangle himself. He had enough encounters of similar types with Shampoo and had long ago learned that it would be easier on him if he sat still than start squirming. When she did disengage herself she gave him a smile. "What am I going to do?"

"Not hug Happosai like that for one," Ranma answered promptly, and though Akane probably had enough wits not to do that he certainly didn't want Happosai the pervert on their hands. It earned him another smile from her. She settled back on the zabuton she had been occupying and placed the small scroll beside the salve she had been using. Revealing the package that he had carefully wrapped and worked on for the past weeks since his decision to make Akane join the entire tournament he handed it to her. "It's a very formal ceremony. You can't use a kimono because that's what the maids are using. You'll use that. Every Saotome samurai summoned to court uses that in formal Saotome gatherings."

She accepted the parcel he tilted his head sideways. "Because you're going to be inaugurated for the first time, you're going to be given your first swords. The others have already received theirs at the same competition Hanae and Sei have passed. Do you have any specific weapon that you've trained extensively in?"

Akane shook her head. Anything Goes had always been a barehanded combat art. She'd never trained in anything more than a bokken, and even that was because of some annoying boy in her school that kept challenging her.

Ranma nodded. "I'll find something suitable. Most of Happosai's weapons are old and he wouldn't want that to leave Saotome hands, but there's a smithy in the donjon and he has stock of fairly new weapons that could be handed out. Your father never gave me a sword for you and I've never seen you in anything than your gymnastics weapons."

"Thank you, Ranma," Akane said gratefully, looking at him meaningfully. "For all your help."

"I entered you here because I thought your skill deserves training," Ranma responded after a while. "You didn't need my help."

* * *

Ifuku raised the black silk towards Akane's petite figure, helping her into the almost Chinese like clothes that Ranma had managed to sew. The Saotome crest was embroidered at the back and a small symbol that Ranma had handpicked for her was sewn in front. Ranma, being a man and not really trained in the art of embroidery had sewn painstakingly and very messily the simplest design he could muster, a moon amidst two clouds. 

Tenth was a good number even for her, who was considered almost too old to be entered into the elite circle that the Saotomes held themselves at pride for. When the chosen fifteen were finally preparing for the last test of fealty towards the clan, the others who didn't make it were in their rooms preparing to leave.

These failing children, though they had competed in the advanced training, were never in the final rights on top of the mountain. Usually, nobody fails the mountain test, and only the top fifteen were admitted into that test to keep it secret. They were invited to the gathering after the swearing of oaths but they almost usually went home immediately afterwards if they had no siblings that passed.

Akane peeked from the small curtain that separated the small cubicle that allowed for changing towards the gardens where the matches had been held. In less than five minutes some samurai and ninja had transformed what had looked like a battle arena into a small reception. Akane gulped, all of them looked extremely serious. She let the curtain fall softly back.

But Ifuku's mind was far from helping her mistress dress up and nurse her wounds from the fight she had incurred that day, in fact, she was doing everything almost mechanically that Akane had to shake her out of it once to tell her that she was spacing out.

"Ifuku, are you all right? That's four times in an hour." Akane looked at her worriedly then raised her hand against her maid's neck as if to get her temperature. "You're not sick, are you?"

Ifuku smiled dazedly. "No my lady, I am merely worried about Sohin..." she trailed off then shook her head. "Do not concern yourself with my worries, my lady, Lord Sei and Lady Hanae did excellently today. They have both been placed on the roster for candidates for being samurai in Anything Goes, you are lucky you have skipped that earlier test."

Akane gulped, and Ifuku realized it may have not been the wisest thing to say to calm down the frightened girl. She was interrupted by a girl entering the room, bowing towards them she said, "Oooohh, you're the girl who I'm going to lead... right? Hi! I'm Ninomiya Hinako."

The girl was in a bubbly attitude that surprised Akane, she even handed her a lollipop. "Well come on then, you better come with me!" She giggled as she pulled her hand towards the corridors.

Earlier that day, women ushered children of the Saotome clan towards where they would fight, most of them maids of the household that Happosai kept. But through the final test of the ten, only Saotome women who have passed the same the test before were allowed to lead.

Akane couldn't do anything but follow the girl and gave Ifuku a glance to reassure herself, but Ifuku was back to staring at the space of God knows what. Hinako was a curious girl. She seemed to be bursting with energy and sometimes stopped her walk without warning for a small thing that, to Akane, looked like candy. Akane had to keep herself from stepping onto the girl's kimono more than once because of the girl's sudden stops.

"You're Lord Ranma's wife, right? Right?" Akane stopped to look at her. She had stopped in the middle of the corridor again and was looking at her with wide-eyes and smiling, a child really. She looked considerably younger than her, maybe sixteen to fifteen years of age(1), Akane can't believe the girl could beat her in a one on one fight.

"Yes." She didn't continue to walk down the twisted paths that were Happosai's donjon. She remained there staring at her as if memorizing her face.

Finally, she nodded, and although Akane knew she didn't need the girl's approval, she was relieved when she had given it. "You're a very... ummm... unique woman, Lady Kodachi." The words seemed unreal coming from such a child-like girl. "A controversy. Many have been engaged to Lord Ranma and none has gotten the privilege of his favor. Do you know he is heir?"

Akane wasn't able to answer. It was as if she was rendered mute by the girl's questioning. "We all wonder how you could have attained Anything Goes. The right to be called Saotome samurai is handed only to those who passed the test Hanae and Sei both passed today. You have not done that. The advanced techniques are taught only to the fifteen best children of the generation, a test which you almost failed. No one has taught you and yet you learn."

The girl continued walking. "Guard our secrets well, Lady Kodachi," the girl whispered then she smiled and flipped a coin into the air. Suddenly the doors she had not noticed opened revealing a large reception room that they had previously used for Nodoka's party. When she turned to talk to Hinako, she wasn't to be found anywhere.

There were exactly fourteen children that guarded the way from the small gate towards a platform, seven girls and seven boys, all ranging from the age of fifteen to seventeen. The fifteen students fortunate enough to be taught Anything Goes, from the previous inauguration ceremony five years before... the fifteenth being the girl who led her there. She was probably going to get the next in rank for the inauguration.

At one other side were the nine children who ranked before her, the new batch of advanced learners. There was room left for her and the other five who had ranked below her.

As she passed them, each gave a small bow to her, 'Lord Happosai likes formalities. He creates his own celebrations. When you're that old, you like leisure as much as the next battle...' Those were Ifuku's exact words.

The two lines led up to a small platform up front where Happosai was elevated up on the stool, at his right sat Ranma. Nabiki sat at the platform as well, but at a level below Ranma, equal to one other samurai that Akane recognized as one of the other referee who had gauged her performance for the past week. They all had taken for granted that she was new and barely introduced themselves. From Nabiki's conversations with him, she knew at least that her sister-in-law called him Kumon.

There were several other men that sat at Happosai's left. All of them regarded her coolly. All of them were wearing the black garment they had worn at Yuigahama. Identical save for the small patch at the right breast. Hinako suddenly showed up beside her again, a small smile in her face as she bowed low before the platform, Akane could almost hear her giggle. "Lord Happosai, I am presenting the wife of Musabetsu Kakuto's heir, the Maiden of the Night, The Black Rose, Lady Kodachi Kuno-noh-Saotome."

Akane almost died when Hinako used the same trick again to seemingly disappear, only to reappear beside one of the fifteen students. Happosai hopped up from his chair and looked at her from head to foot. "Inducted at the clan at five and twenty. You're too old to be samurai, Lady Kodachi, and yet too dangerous to break free of it."

Happosai turned towards his heir and raised his eyebrow. "You do realize that the oldest that enters samurai status is seventeen?" Ranma did not show any outward indication of response, and Happosai did not wait for any. "Never mind... you did manage to get her a sword, didn't you?"

A boy from the fifteen walked towards them and handed two glinting swords towards Ranma, then backed away to join his fellow students. Ranma stood up and unsheathed them both, showing the choice of weapons towards the group seated at the platform, and then sheathed them again, handing them to Akane. "These swords to protect are your bond,"

"It's purpose, a gift from the lord: the code," Akane answered back hoping that she was answering the words correctly. Happosai was looking at everything she was doing critically and she placed the two swords at her front, as a rule, they weren't allowed to wear swords when your liege lord was present.

Nabiki stood up bearing the Saotome sigil on her hands stenciled in the long black cloth that was attached to the large poles, a banner for war. "Your quest..."

"It knows no barriers, I will overcome.  
My skill is not for sale  
My experience is not for auction,  
I shall keep the trust of my lord,  
Secure, serve and obey is my signature."

Nabiki then took her place beside her brother, as Ryu walked towards Akane, He carried with him the armor that Akane would never use, but was part of the formality of being a samurai. "You are the trustee of the weak."

"The soul, the mind, the body  
No man shall buy my loyalty to the clan  
No reason that would becloud my noble call."

Ryu inclined his head in acknowledgement and stepped beside Nabiki, Happosai looked at her. "You are the tenth to break, and these nine students will soon leave the palace to serve the lords I have chosen for them, though they are younger, they are your seniors, they are more skilled than you. Listen to them. The fifteen before you are the children who have passed before. They too are your seniors."

"Should you break the trust given to you, Kodachi, you are going to be stricken off the clan. You are not going to be taught any more, but you aren't going to learn any less. Go and take your place among the nine."

-

Nabiki shivered in the black silk as she leaned against one of the trees in the donjon's larger gardens. Her eyes swept the whole scene through the shoji walls that separated her from them. She was one of the oldest samurai present. An honor, for the inauguration hosted the fresh blood of Happosai's minions. 'Another generation is coming in... I'm getting too old to be hatamoto.'

After she reflected on that she shook her head of the nonsense, some of the best samurai were aged at eighty, and Happosai was surely over a hundred. Still it was depressing to look at the young ones. It meant that they would be sending Sei and Hanae away on their ritual ten year training trips soon. She would probably never see them again. 'I wonder if Hanae's mother would have approved...'

"You're not supposed to think tonight."

Nabiki's eyes narrowed at the familiar voice, she turned her head to find Ryu behind her. "Kami - you scare the hell out of me, Kumon." She turned back to lean against the tree, her frown still on her face.

"I thought I'd never get that reaction from you," Ryu said as he stood beside her. The proximity irritated Nabiki although the words raised her annoyance more. "I thought Saotome Nabiki wasn't scared of anything."

"No... to know no fear is to die." Nabiki closed her eyes, as the music from the inside filtered through the shoji. Some woman was playing the samisen, but Nabiki didn't particularly like the instrument. Though it was supposed to sooth her nerves, it achieved in doing the opposite. "I haven't seen you around lately. It's a wonder Happosai got you to take part at the end of Kodachi's oath."

"I was busy doing old man Happosai's orders. Swearing Kodachi in was a part of winning this, along with those fourteen others." He snorted. Ryu had been the only one who she had not beaten in their inauguration. That was why they stood in equal footing in the clan's eyes. "I don't know if being part of your elite clan is worth it. That man's a slave driver."

"Don't we all know it." Nabiki opened her eyes again. She turned to Ryu and looked at the patch sewn on his black shirt, a bird in flight. She lifted her hand to touch it. "Yet you keep here."

He took her hand from his chest and laid it on his own rough hand. "I thought you'd marry me." She snatched it quickly, replacing it in her ear, seemingly brushing away stray locks that weren't there.

"You were one fiancé in a thousand others, Ryu." Nabiki sighed. She wondered what Genma was thinking when he had engaged her to him. She wondered what Genma was thinking when he gave the Kumons the Yamasen-ken. "It wouldn't have worked."

"I had entered hoping you would." That was what Nabiki had thought. Entering a stupid contest because of marriage was a stupid idea, thinking that he would get her as a prize was even more idiotic. "I won. You should have married me."

Nabiki glared at him, remembering her main grievance against him. "You told my mother I was dead, you jerk." She was a bit irked, but it had been in the past, something long forgotten, even for her. Still, it was something that had kept her from even considering Ryu as a potential husband... not that her choice had any bearing on who she married. "You expect me to marry you?"

"I thought you already forgave me." He ran his hand through his hair, not expecting her to throw that at his face. Nabiki gave him another icy glare. Because their foster father had foolishly promised to make them commit seppuku in front of Happosai if they were not 'man among men' or 'woman among women' for their mother, they had hidden for a year from their mother because of Jusenkyo.

They had served the entirety of that year in Happosai's donjon with their foster father. Whenever Lady Nodoka visited, Ranma was Ranko, Genma was a panda and Nabiki was dressed up as Ranko's maid. It was not only demeaning, it had been painful to see their mother and not call her as their own.

"I beat your brother on your mother's roof that night." He declared haughtily. Nabiki wondered if every male paraded their supposed prowess in fighting to impress women. "I won over him."

"And if you think that your arrogance will get you somewhere near a marriage ceremony with me, you're sadly mistaken." If there was something Nabiki didn't tolerate it was someone badmouthing one of her own. She also knew the circumstances of that fight. "He lost because he was distracted."

"Distraction is a crucial part of Anything Goes," he pointed out conceitedly. Nabiki didn't need to be taught the tenets. She had lived with it all her life. "If something as simple as your mother could distract him then plenty of others would."

"You mock what you do not understand," Nabiki bit back, how could he understand what they had been through to find their mother? Something registered in Nabiki's mind, as she shot back, "He didn't lose to you. We were just slightly set back. I remember that incident clearly Kumon."

-------------------

Nabiki looked at Ryu in disgust, as they peered through the small windows of their own house. "I'm dead? I'm going to show that rotten fish just **who** Nabiki Saotome is."

In an uncharacteristic show of good thought Ranma-chan held Nabiki back by the collar. "Not now, Nabiki, seppuku is not on my agenda." She frowned as she peered down at Nodoka busying herself for her so-called-son.

"It's not fair. **I** get to be your maid, while you get to be -"

"Happosai's consort." Ranma-chan grimaced in distaste as she remembered the way Happosai had introduced him to their mother. The old man simply had no shame. "If you ask me you're getting the better part of the deal. You act better than I do."

Nabiki gave her a look that said otherwise. "Now aren't you breaking the bones of this guy... or will you give the pleasure to me?"

"He's got my name. I've got first dibs." Ranma pointed to himself in a self assured way. Still, Ranma was sure Nabiki would want more than the physical revenge that a beating would entail. Hers was more of the subtle kind, the ones that lasted long and were rather hard to forget. "You get his scraps."

"He said I was dead!" Any further argument was stopped by a table landing in between the two of them. They glared at each other then at the table. "He's starting to get on my nerves."

"We're finishing this tonight," Both of them announced at once.

-

A few bruises, their pride a few notches lower and days later got them on the training of the Umisen-ken the direct opposite of the Yamasen-ken which Ryu was using.

"Why do **I** have to be the backup?" Nabiki shouted enraged at the very thought that she wouldn't be getting a piece of Ryu. She also didn't like that fact that both of them were forbidden on any other sort of revenge than a beating because of his knowledge of the Yamasen-ken. "This is unfair. Wouldn't a dual attack work?"

Genma murmured to himself, "It would, but both arts were made for one on one combat, Nabiki. It would be overkill to use them the same time, even if this Ryu is better than the two of you. Even if you manage to create a fuse of the Umisen-ken."

Ranma just gave her a sympathetic look, she wasn't buying anything like that from **him**, she just gave him a glare. "And why do **I** have to go and give him this..." She looked at the letter distastefully. "I'm **not** a messenger you know."

"He doesn't **recognize** you, Nabiki. He thinks you're a boy 'cuz you attacked him as one," Ranma whispered to her, "Do you want mother to know our secret too soon?"

Any answer from her was cut off as Saotome Nodoka opened the door to them and both Ranma and Genma had leapt towards the roof before they could be seen. Nabiki had not wanted to greet their mother in such an aloof way but let it go. "Oh... good morning, Saotome-sama."

Nodoka greeted her with a warm smile. "Good morning, Shizuko." Nabiki gritted her teeth at the name, when Happosai introduced **her** however he had shortened her second name. 'Great.'

"I have a message for Lord Ranma, this morning." Nabiki gagged at the way she was treating this Kumon guy, and Genma had forbidden her to even lay a finger on him. It showed why her foster father was never chosen for training Happosai's spies. He was a thief, but not skilled for espionage.

Nodoka smiled as she left the small white outer garment of the kimono in the stands and placed slippers. "Oh, does Lord Happosai wish to give Lady Ranko to Ranma as a gift?" Nabiki turned green at the thought. Happosai had the tendency to give away many things, but **not** his consorts. Besides, the idea of Ranma and Ryu together in **that** way was enough to make Nabiki a little nauseated. She was sure Ranma would have died at the idea as well.

From the looks of it, Ryu was feeling the same amount of revulsion. He knew who Ranko was, after all. Nabiki mustered a smile for Nodoka. "Ahh... no. I... have ... information to pass on."

Nodoka smiled knowingly before going out. "Oh well. He **is** manly enough to take a lot of consorts, Shizuko. So I approve. I am leaving for my daily walk, Ranma. I shall be back shortly." Then Nodoka stepped out of the house.

Nabiki's smile melted into a frown as she turned to look at her pseudo brother. Nabiki flipped the letter in the air, and Ryu barely caught it, her eyes narrowed. "Ranma and Nabiki can't come because of your stupid threats -"

"If it's so stupid, then why are they keeping away?" Ryu challenged, Nabiki's anger went up a notch. Her words were rarely challenged. In fact he was one of the first of her non-teachers to do it.

"They're keeping away because you're not worth breaking his word of honor." Nabiki gave him a small smile. They were avoiding the place because they feared his word, but it wasn't to her advantage if she told Ryu **that** particular fact.

She watched as he gave her a scowl and tore the letter open and read it, when he finished he snorted at the challenge. "So?"

Nabiki flipped her hair. "And one more thing." She pulled him up to his feet and raised him in the air by the edges of his garb. "Nabiki sends his warmest regards... gives his word that he's not dead, and that you're going to pay for playing with their mother's feelings."

Nabiki threw the boy down and wiped her hands. "That's all."

"What cowards," Ryu spat out as he coughed the dirt he had all but inhaled when Nabiki had thrown him down. "Sending a girl to do a man's job."

Nabiki toyed with the idea of beating him down with her fists but her conscience rallied against it. She also contemplated on telling him that Nabiki Saotome wasn't exactly a man, but decided that the message wouldn't go through his skull as she had wanted. She threw her hands up. "There's no such thing as a 'man's job'. Anyhow... I think your 'mother' is home."

At the exact moment, Nodoka walked in with a smile on her face. "Oh, are you finishing up with my son? I forgot my parasol."

Nabiki thought she was going to be sick, but held her tongue. No secret would be revealed too soon from the mouth of Nabiki Saotome. She smiled graciously at her. "Are you sure that **this** is a manly son?" Nabiki waved her hand towards the ground. "Sorry to break any hearts Lady Nodoka, but I'm a mere peasant and I wear **him** out."

"Well, that's okay," Nodoka hummed happily as she helped Ryu up. "A good woman can always wear out a manly man."

Nabiki heard a cough from above, her stomach acted up again, this time, she didn't think she would make it out of the house without vomiting, but she made it just the same. When she got out, Ranma and Genma dropped from their positions on the roof, she gave both of them a glare and Ranma didn't look like he had enjoyed listening in either.

Lifting her head up high, Nabiki snorted. "That's what **you** get for sending me as a messenger."

Ranma coughed a little as he followed. "Oh yeah? You don't look to great either."

Nabiki hit him hard on the back. "You were saying?"

-

Nabiki scratched her neck as she watched Ryu assist Nodoka to consciousness, it had taken longer than she had expected for Ranma to beat him. There had been a couple of times when she was about to take in to assist, but he had done it all by himself, 'The bastard,' Nabiki thought with a smile. 'He never lets me have any fun.'

"Do you want to see your real children?" Ryu asked Nodoka timidly as he helped her sit down. There was a tense silence as Nabiki sweated and Genma was holding his signs ready to bat Ryu away...

'He wouldn't dare...' Nabiki thought as she raised her hand to stop him, but Genma got to him first. There was a small whisper and then an exchange of notes. 'What the...'

"But... I don't know where they are. I'll be sure to tell them though," Ryu answered with a small smile, and a wave. Then he looked at Nabiki. "And I'll be seeing you a lot sooner."

Nabiki looked at him bewildered, then at the paper at his hands. It doesn't take much time for Nabiki to put two and two together, having had the same thing happen to her before. She turned towards the panda. "You **idiot**. Don't tell me you engaged me to another moron!"

-------------------

Since then, Ryu had found out that the girl that he had had been engaged to was Saotome Nabiki, twin of Saotome Ranma, not to some maid of Happosai's consort and that 'Nabiki Saotome' was a girl not a boy as he had previously thought.

"He's better than you, Kumon. It's the reason why he's heir." Nabiki pushed him away. The whole line was getting old, even for her. In the light of the past week, she would be thankful if she never heard it again. "Here I am laughing at Ranma's fiancées and yet I can't laugh at my own. My marriage is not for me to decide. I'm an object of the clan. Happosai chose my husband."

"You mean that damned Ikkasei?" His eyes darkened, he had not attended her wedding. Not that a lot of people had, she was happy that Ranma and her mother had come. "He doesn't even believe you. He doesn't even know you're alive."

"I'm still married to 'that damned Ikkasei', okay?" Nabiki pointed out. "I was sent away, but I still am. Any 'wedding' at this point would be farce... at least it would be to me. Not until my husband chooses another wife. He hasn't, all he has are consorts."

Ryu took a step back from her, not believing. "What?"

"I have a son," Nabiki said softly. "He's the rightful heir to his father. He doesn't know... and I keep him in Saotome territory because I fear what they will tell him about me. He came by his own will, and I fear of the day he wants to retake his destiny. I do not want to lose my only link to the world. Even after all this will you still **want** to marry me?"

He took another step back. "I thought when I beat you in this little tournament it would be over... I -"

"You didn't 'beat me', Ryu. Just as Ranma never lost to you." It was the first time she had used his given name to address him. "It was a draw. We hit each other simultaneously and fell dead to the world. Look, I know Genma had made a promise he couldn't keep. Just as my other fiancés. Just as Ranma has his. Whatever we both say, it doesn't matter. Happosai holds our very lives."

He gave her a questioning look. "But you don't understand... Happosai was the one who engaged us."

Nabiki's senses all snapped at that. "What?!"

"Genma was the one who arranged it but it was Happosai's stamp and seal... all of the others have it. That's why we were surprised that neither of you married anyone that they had given the documents to."

Nabiki's head snapped to the direction of Happosai and narrowed her eyes. All this time, she had blamed everything on Genma when the old man was just being manipulated. 'But to what end?'

"It doesn't matter, nothing matters. Will you still marry me?"

If there was one thing she had to give Ryu credit for, it was his persistence. Nabiki waved him away. She didn't want to be bound to any of her fiancés. "My marriage has never been my choice to begin with, Ryu. Please..."

"We'll go away -" A desperate attempt to lure her into marriage. How many promises were Ryu willing to give? How many praises was he willing to dish out? How long was he willing to wait?

Nabiki gave him a small laugh as she turned around to face him. "Kami, Ryu! I have a son. He needs me. My brother needs me. Stop thinking of yourself for a while."

He caught her hand as she started to walk away. "I'm not thinking of me. I think of **you**. When will you stop living for others, Nabiki? I could make you happy."

"A bold promise Ryu Kumon." She didn't turn back to look at him. "Something overly promised to me before. What you don't realize is that this **is** my life." She motioned towards the scene of sparring children, of Happosai, of the donjon ahead. "I can't marry you because I can't love you. Now please... let me go."

He let her hand drop, but not without getting his last say. "You don't believe in love, Nabiki."

"If you believe that..." Nabiki trailed off, had she really appeared so disillusioned to the world? True she had never acknowledged self proclaimed love by her countless fiancés, and she had never thought that love was going to be one of the factors to decide her husband. Yet somehow, she felt insulted by Ryu's words and a little hurt over his assessment of her qualities.

She shivered lightly, she had never actually cared before, never really thought that she could marry for anything other than obligation. The fact was it had never really mattered. But now, it stung deeply, she shook her head. "Then you are not capable of understanding what I want either."

-

Akane sat down at one of the isolated zabutons away from the night's events. It was just like Nodoka's birthday all over again. She was in Saotome territory and no one accepted her here. She was by far the oldest and it was extremely embarrassing that she was on the lower ranking.

Sighing, she ran her thumb against the kodachi she had been given. Saotomes do seem to have a sick sense of humor. One thing was sure though: her sword forms needed a lot of practice. She had barely passed that particular test.

She had been prepared for another night of solitude, since Ranma didn't seem to want to talk to her and Nabiki was keeping her distance. So she had been surprised when one girl finally broke from her group to sit down beside her, offering a smile.

"Lady Kodachi, you seem restless," she commented lightly and proffered a cup of the sweet tea she had brought along with her. "It is not very wise to be such in a melancholic mood at a night where you have been welcomed. Few are given the opportunity to do so, especially for one who is not from the same blood lines."

Akane could only offer a weak smile. Although the people had not been as cold as any previous gathering, they still made an effort to ignore her. There had been little support from the crowd and even less from Ranma and his twin. She had seen him only twice the whole day, and even as the evening progressed, could not find him. "I'm just very tired."

"Ahh, the day does wear out most of the people, especially one who tries to fight off a crowd." The pretty young samurai leaned back on the bench, motioning for Akane to do the same. Her long, raven hair had been combed and set with a jeweled comb for the occasion. A silk kimono adorned her. Her brown eyes sparkled at Akane with friendliness.

"How are you related to all of the people here?" Akane asked. She was a bit embarrassed that she could not remember the girl's name when all of the children had been introduced to her earlier. Still, she was curious about the life when one gets inducted to the clan and welcomed her company.

"Most of them are my cousins." She shrugged then taking a fan from seemingly nowhere. She opened it gracefully, flicking it slightly towards one of the boys. "He's my half-brother."

Akane nodded and was about to ask more information about her when she was called by someone off the screens. From the beckons, Akane found out that her name was Ruriko. She was one of the younger girls. Ruriko bowed respectfully to Akane. "When we meet again Lady Kodachi, I hope you are happier than tonight." Then she left quickly, she was alone again. She didn't know whether she should have been pleased or not so she shrugged her shoulders as she walked about finding herself into one of the donjons larger gardens.

It was dark out but the air much lighter, she felt like she needed to get away. It was true that they had welcomed her and brought her into their elite society, but she felt like an outsider looking in through the window. They weren't hostile to her, but they didn't go out of their way to include her either. She wasn't expecting much and in truth she shouldn't have expected anything at all, but it had still hurt to be left out.

She sighed as she looked back, wondering how long a walk it was to Rose Brier. 'Probably longer than I could take.' She mused, they had taken horses lent by the Happosai, and Kami knew how her back ached from the experience. Horseback riding had never been her forte.

There was music that filtered out the paper doors to the garden that she stared at now... one of the many gardens in the donjon. She sighed, the need to escape so desperate in her. Then she made up her mind, she marched up to one of the gates smiled and told the guard that she was going home.

People were kept from going in, not from going out, and she was home free. She sighed as she walked her way into the busy streets of Happosai's domain. And she gulped as she saw the sight... she had forgotten that Happosai's donjon was on a mountain range, she definitely did not know how to get home.

'At least I'm wearing pants,' Akane thought as she scanned the area, 'Right...' She turned to walk down a path she made on her own, not really caring if she got lost. 'At least here... I won't feel like I'm not wanted.'

-

"Nabiki... have you seen Kodachi?" Ranma asked when he found his sister on one of the halls. She was frowning and looked like she didn't want to be bothered, but the demeanor was lost on Ranma.

"No..." Nabiki trailed off then looked out the window which overlooked the vast land that Happosai owned. Ranma would not come to her for his problems unless he really could not find his wife. "Have you checked the gardens with black roses?"

"I've checked everywhere... she can't just **disappear**." Ranma frowned as he looked out the barred windows. He knew the fortress very well, and from experience, knew that there it had a lot of places to sneak out of and hide in, but the knowledge of the public to these halls were limited and so was Kodachi's.

"Yes, wonder boy, we really need a blow by blow account of the obvious," Nabiki murmured, and Ranma wondered at how one person could be sarcastic while being demure. Taking charge of the situation she began to tell Ranma what to do, "If she's not inside then she's outside. I'll search from the entrance going to the town. You check the back, near the forest... if she's outside she wouldn't have gotten far ahead. We're in a goddamned mountain."

Ranma nodded and both of them separated to look for her, both of them took to the trees for the better vantage point, trying to get an upper hand on the fact that their vision was severely impaired by the dark. Although some lamps were around the forest so the guards could see, none were placed near the forests that they were scouting. The little moonlight that the gibbous moon was offering was filtered out by the dense leaves.

It took Ranma a while for his sight to adjust to the dimness around him, going from tree to tree in a swift jump. Happosai couldn't have asked for an audience with Kodachi at a worse time. And Happosai was not known for patience... and even less for understanding. 'Kami, where is that woman when you need her?'

He was running and jumping at a breakneck pace in his urgency to find Akane as quickly as possible, and who knew what Happosai had in store for her with her tardiness. 'I should have paid attention to what she was doing.' He berated himself as he landed smoothly on another tree, he barely looked at his next landing site before he jumped towards another. 'She could get herself lost... killed... What does she think these mountains are? The cliff near Rose Brier?'

He fumed as he landed down the path that leads to the village, ending the forest for a while. "She has got to be the stupidest **woman** this side of Japan!" Ranma cursed as he scanned the area again.

He sighed as he took off to the trees at another angle towards the town. He was going to give Kodachi a good lecture when he found her. He pondered for a second why Happosai wanted to talk with his wife, but dismissed it. The less he knew the better. Who knows if Kodachi took to giving her 'favors' to Happosai now? He imagined Kodachi and Happosai together and grimaced. 'That has **got** to be the most **disgusting** - I think I'm going to be sick.'

He stopped at that, missing the next branch he was aiming for, which sent him plummeting down. The impact was lesser than most of the blows he had received in his lifetime, but pain still shot out of his ankle. His blood immediately warmed him from the place of impact to his cheeks.

He shook his head to clear it, and then looked up the distance he had fallen. It was quite far considering that the tree was more than four times taller than he was and he had been on one of the upper branches. He groaned as he tried to stand up, testing his foot and rotating its joints, grimacing at the discomfort it was causing him. 'Yep, something is definitely wrong with it. Next time, less thinking about the adventures of Kodachi and focus more tree hopping.' He winced as he put pressure on his left ankle.

'Great - I haven't sprained my ankle since Shampoo tried to kiss me as a girl.' That had been when he had been fourteen... he had been in a fight with Rian and one thing led to the other. The next thing he knew, he had been carrying Shampoo out of the way and had been hopping over the sakura blossoms. Shampoo had given him a kiss of gratitude... which had surprised him so much he had failed to aim his jump. He had landed ten feet below, with Shampoo sitting on his lap, which was putting pressure on his foot, which was embedded in the soil.

"Oh - it's just you."

He whirled around, using his right foot to pivot, but he didn't need to see her to know he had finally come to the end of his search. "What the hell are you doing out here?"

"I could ask the same thing of you." Akane grimaced holding a tight bundle around her arms. "I'm not going back there, Ranma."

"Right - if you say so," Ranma answered as he moved towards her, the pain seemed to be tolerable. It might not have been a sprain after all. He took her arm and led her back to the village. "Come on, the old man is looking for you."

"He could go to hell." Ranma raised an eyebrow, but kept tugging on her arm anyway. Since he was stronger than she was, she finally followed him reluctantly. "Can't we just let this poor thing go first?"

Finally remembering the small bundle in her arms, Ranma let go of her arm then looked at it. It actually wasn't a bundle at all but an animal moving around in her hands. In the dark he had failed to notice what it had been.

"What is it anyway?" A little of his impatience showing through his voice. Happosai wanted her delivered. He wanted nothing to do with her. The more time he spent here with her the more annoyed he got.

Akane smiled as she knelt towards the ground. "Oh... nothing..."

-

Nabiki snapped her head at the scream, noticing that everyone had done so as well. The scream had been distinctly male and had come from the end of the forest where Ranma went into. She ran towards the source of the voice, 'Oh no.'

She had forgotten one minute fact about the mountains: it was filled with cats. Although Sagami wasn't naturally a cat place... the mountains were. The village nearby had kept their supply handy because the wanted to keep mice out and the cats had grown extremely over populated this side of Musashi that they had to actively put them out of the twin's borders. Food was scarce in the mountains because nothing useful grew at a higher altitude and they could spare little for pests.

'No... no... no... This is **not** happening.' Nabiki kept running, in a second one samurai had caught up with her as she entered the forest. "Lady Saotome, may I be of assistance?"

She turned her head slightly and found Ryu smiling back at her matching her pace with his own. What he lacked in speed, he made up with his longer stride. 'What is **he** doing here?' Nabiki thought as she turned back to the road. "That depends, Kumon. What do you think we're doing anyway?"

"Running towards an ambush?"

Nabiki smiled as his assumption, an ambush... "Better be prepared Kumon, if we find what we're looking for, you're in for a good fight." She thought about what they were up against. "Things could get really out of hand."

Nabiki stopped when she almost ran over Kodachi, who had been staring out into the trees with shock in her eyes. "What happened here?" Nabiki asked as she shook the girl to regain her senses. She had to ask a couple of times before the question registered in her mind.

Kodachi pointed towards the trees then looked at Nabiki. "I don't know what happened - I - he told me Happosai was looking for me..."

Nabiki turned to Ryu to confirm, and he nodded. "I was out looking for both Kodachi and Ranma. Happosai had been impatient after a stick of waiting for their return."

"Snap to your senses. Why isn't he with you if he found you?" Nabiki asked harshly. Although she knew the answer, she was going to confirm it with facts before she moved.

"He ran. He screamed..."

Nabiki took a deep breath. "Did there happen to be a cat in the vicinity?" Kodachi looked at her sharply, and Nabiki knew the answer to her question. She cursed loudly and turned to Ryu. "Get me ten samurai, quickly. I want them around this side of the forest and fast. Get me ten more on the village. Station them near this side of the forest. Look for my brother. When you find him give a signal, shout or something. I don't care... as long as you don't provoke him into a fight."

"What's all the fuss Nabiki?" Ryu asked bewildered at her strange orders. "Your brother can take care of himself just fine."

Nabiki turned to face Ryu. "It's not my brother I'm worried about." She took Akane's hand and practically dragged her to bring her up to her pace. "You're staying with me. I want my brother found as soon as possible. Got that Kumon?"

"Yes, Lady Saotome." Ryu bowed and in a second he had disappeared into the darkness of the forest.

"What's wrong with him and the cat anyway?" Akane muttered as she tried to keep up with Nabiki's swiftness. Half of the time she was being dragged by the older girl and the other half she was carried in air. At the rate they were going, Nabiki could have kept her propelled in air for the whole duration of their run -- if she didn't dislocate her arm first.

At her question Nabiki gave a snort. "Don't you wonder why no cats are allowed near Rose Brier?" There was a tinge of something in her voice. Something that Akane didn't recognize.

"Sure! Ranko's scared stiff of them." Akane answered quickly remembering the time at the beach, then just as suddenly she remembered another confrontation with Ranko and hot water. "Oh..."

"'Oh' isn't exactly what **my** reaction would be." Nabiki answered then she stopped, dropping Akane towards the ground. She took one look at the area her eyes squinting in the dark.

"Why are we stopping?" Akane muttered, brushing away the leaves that had accumulated on her garb. "There was a lot more opportunity to manhandle me, you know."

Nabiki ignored her as she held her hand up to silence her. Akane frowned as she tried to listen to what Nabiki was listening to. She could hear nothing in the air but the soft chirping of the cicadas. The forests were alive with them at night... in the distance a soft mewling of a cat was heard.

Nabiki's head turned towards the sound and frowned, there was another, and another... Nabiki's fist was already clenched in a ball. "How could I be so **stupid**?" Nabiki berated herself as she backed towards Akane. She could not decipher one cat from the other, or if one of the voices she heard was Ranma's.

"Hmm?" Akane asked finally looking at Nabiki. "What are we doing, Nabiki?"

"I'm staying still," Nabiki managed to spit out when she had managed to back herself into Akane. "**You're** going to call out for Ranma."

Akane turned Nabiki so she was facing her. "You're kidding, right?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Nabiki hissed. She didn't have time for explanations when there was the possibility of her reverting into the cat-fist as well. "Look, he shouldn't have gotten far. He was with you when the incident happened, he wouldn't stray."

Akane raised her eyebrows but finally complied, thinking nothing of Nabiki's sudden burst of - fear? She wouldn't know. Nabiki kept her emotions under lock and key. "Ranma!"

The shout broke the other sounds of the night, silencing some and awakening others. "Ranma! We're here!" She turned to look over at Nabiki to see if what she was doing was right, but the woman had closed her eyes shut and managed to lean against the trunk of an old tree.

After a few minutes of screaming, Akane's throat was raw, the samurai were nowhere to be found and Nabiki was of little use. "Nabiki, what exactly am I doing here, anyway?"

"You're looking for Ranma," Nabiki explained through her gritted teeth, eyes still closed. "Don't disturb me unless you want to look for me as well."

Akane didn't know what that meant and watched as another one of Nabiki's weird little shudders went through her. Akane never made the connection of the mewing cats to Nabiki's shudders, and Nabiki wasn't about to enlighten her.

"Call to him... call to him as if you were calling a pet," Nabiki managed to say after a few more moments. After a while she screwed, her eyes shut again as another cat called out its lament to the mountains.

Akane looked at her and thought that the woman was losing her mind, Nabiki gritted her teeth. "Call him! I don't have much time. My affliction is just as strong as Ranma's. I can stay paralyzed with just its sound." Akane tilted her head to the side as she watched Nabiki as she kneeled down and gripped her pants. "What are you waiting for you fool? Call him."

"Ranma!" Akane finally started again, wanting to humor the woman. It wouldn't hurt, and they had already been stuck in the area for a long time. The air was getting thick and moist, and it looks as if a low lying cloud was already starting to creep up the mountains and envelope it in its mists. She shivered in her clothes.

It was after another round of calling before Nabiki pointed to the bushes and whispered, "He's over there." Wondering how the girl could know with her eyes closed, Akane walked over to the direction Nabiki was gesturing at, but Ranma had leapt out of it before she could reach it, his cover useless now. He landed on all fours behind Akane and in front of Nabiki. Nabiki couldn't see him, but her ears registered him jumping towards his target.

"Ranma! Come!" She held out her right hand towards him, her eyes were still closed. Ranma had stopped in the middle of his assault. Akane watched as he gave her a last eyeing before he walked towards Nabiki.

Akane's hand flew towards her mouth he was walking using his hands and his feet... it was almost like a - "Cat." Nabiki finally opened her eyes and gave Akane one strange look before she turned towards her brother... her fear abated because he was near.

It had always taken them more time to turn into cat when together than when separated. It probably had to do with the fact that they had been trained in that department individually at first, then together at the end. Their foster father had almost thought he had 'cured' them of their fear when it took more than a minute to get them to use the neko-ken.

Nabiki watched her brother closely as he sniffed her hand. She put her other hand in his hair and smiled, trying to reassure him. Although she was not able to bring him out of the Neko-ken as their neighbor had, it seemed that her presence calmed him. It also worked vice versa.

He gave her one look then another at Akane before he settled at her feet to curl down. Nabiki raised her eyebrow at this. 'Ranma has never questioned my judgment before... he **snarls** when there are enemies near-by... but never just **looks** at someone.'

She gave Akane a thoughtful glance, then at Ranma. Finally, she sighed at the girl, and motioned her to step closer. Akane gave her an incredulous stare but moved forward. "What happened?"

"Three koban," Nabiki demanded, her palm outstretched in the universal gesture of asking for money. Akane stared at her dumbfounded, not having money at hand, and not knowing if her sister-in-law was joking or not. Nabiki gave a small laugh, an odd sound at the situation they were facing. "Kami, I haven't done that in a while." Ever since Ranma had married Kodachi and Rose Brier was handed down to them on a silver platter, money didn't seem so much of a problem.

"This is a result of a stupid foster father, a large pit, fish, and a lot of cats." Nabiki sighed, there were many things she could blame on Genma on their childhood, the Neko-ken being on the top of the list, but she could never actually maim the man. Both of them owed their lives to him. Ranma took another glance at Akane again, only to look back at Nabiki with a small meow, a question, she wagered. "He seems to be curious about you."

"Curious?" Akane asked a bit curious at Ranma's state herself.

"Yes, if I didn't know any better... I'd say -" Nabiki stopped the trail of thought. She had been about to say that Ranma liked her. A thought struck her as she remembered a post-fight with Cologne using the Neko-ken.

-------------------

"I'm surprised at the both of you." Cologne berated the two at their quarters. "Neko-ken? Do you know that you are lucky to share the bond of twins? To use the Neko-ken both at the same time is both deadly as it is stupid. What if you had turned against each other?"

They hung their heads low, they had not been thinking. The Neko-ken had seemed to be an easy way to get the Phoenix pill. They had also ruined the first floor of the palace, the entire garden and the cherry blossoms. Nabiki was sure there was going to be hell to pay.

"Only two things can bring you out of the Neko-ken, the activation of your curse which shocks you enough to regain your senses..." Cologne shook her head as she wiped a scrape she had received from the two of them... they had managed to draw blood.

Fighting one was bad enough. Fighting two at the same time was a lethal match. Most that had gotten in the way were already attending to broken bones. "You said two things, matriarch."

Cologne gave a scowl. "And love. Genma says a neighbor brought you out... did you trust her as a mother?" They didn't answer, but from the bowed head, she knew that she was correct. "It's sad. You cannot bring each other out."

"Why?"

Cologne's head pounded at their question, why indeed. "Because the hurdle that a man must take to reach his sanity borders on trust and the love that both of you share for each other. The hand that reaches cannot touch if there is none."

Both of them looked at her confused, Cologne sighed, not really wanting to explain the long list of things that came with the Neko-ken. She hadn't expected to see one troubled by it so soon... much less two. "Being twins gives you bond a leap above normal siblings and a step higher than your parents. But you cannot trust what you fear, and it drags down your ability so much more."

Since they feared cats and the other was doing a good imitation of one, they were frightened of each other when they were in the neko-ken... even though they did not realize it. She shook her head, they did not understand. They will when the time comes, they were still too young, and Genma had failed to teach them what love is.

How could he? He had failed at it as well.

Cologne knelt down in front of the two of them and smiled. "Don't worry children. We shall train you to resist as long as humanly possible. And when you find yourself cursed with the cat's insanity again, I hope that both of you have found someone to love. And that... would be the fastest way to bring you back to sanity."

-------------------

"You'd say what, Nabiki?" Akane asked as she looked at the older girl in the eye. Nabiki shook her head, clearing her thoughts.

"Hold him for a while," Nabiki urged while she pushed Ranma towards Akane. She also motioned for Akane to step forward. Ranma didn't protest. He just looked at the both of them expectantly. "Just do what you would with a pet."

Nabiki took this time to watch them both... the minute Akane took over Ranma's hand, his attention was all hers. He sat on her lap and curled around it, just as he had with their neighbor twenty four years ago. Something she had never been able to do because she had experienced the neko-ken too. They had never been able to bring out each other, no matter how desperate they had been.

'Love.' Nabiki stared at them for a long while. At this state Ranma was pure emotion and no brain. He trusted Akane completely. Even after that big fight her brother apparently still had feelings for Akane. 'Winged cupid is painted blind.'

Nabiki closed her eyes. Before this, she might not have believed that her brother would accept Kodachi... but the neko-ken was sheer proof. Cologne was almost never wrong in the weird things she professed she knew. She was a fool to have forgotten that one little fact about their affliction.

'Kami protect us all from what happens next.' A loud slap rang across the forest. Nabiki opened her eyes to look at them. Ranma was propping himself up from the dirt in front of her in a very confused manner. Akane was red from anger. 'No... maybe not anger.'

"How could I forget? You're still mad at me." Akane huffed as she dusted herself off. Ranma was holding a red cheek. "You're still mad at me for something I don't know. Well your ankle seems to be better."

Ranma rubbed his cheek as he tried to get his bearings, ignoring Akane's last statement about his feelings regarding her. He tested his ankle shifting his weight on it remembering what had initially gotten him into trouble in the first place. "I guess the neko-ken accelerated my healing. There's virtually no pain left. Where are we anyway? The area looks different..."

Nabiki sighed at the two of them with everything back to normal. It was hard not to be exasperated. 'I don't know if I should just give them swords to kill each other or give them a pillow book. They're driving me crazy.' Nabiki dusted herself as she cleared her throat. "You two love birds done fighting?"

Ranma just gave her a disbelieving stare and Akane ignored her. If she hadn't seen the scene earlier, she would have assumed that they still hated each other. 'I'm getting another migraine.' "Good, now Lady Saotome, Happosai wanted you three sticks ago. Ranma... we're going to have a long talk."

-

Akane was ushered in by three samurai and the one Nabiki had called 'Kumon' into Happosai's waiting room. It was a vast room, easily fitting a hundred men, with the standard platform up front with a small zabuton on top. Two samurai flanked the platform holding what looked like the Saotome crest on the left and Happosai's on the right.

'Okay...' Akane thought as she looked around, the sparsely furnished room was as minimalist as a Zen priest could get with all of the grandeur a liege lord could have. She wondered why the inauguration hadn't been held there, but kept her questions to herself.

She didn't know the customs of this time, and cursed her luck when no one was around to teach her, the samurai bowed and left her to Happosai. He blew on his pipe and motioned for the banner bearers to leave. When they were alone Happosai hopped down towards her and surveyed her. "You look better than the last time I saw you, Kodachi. Extremely late as usual, but better."

"Uh... I guess..." She didn't know why the man was showing sudden interest in her health when he was so against bringing her into the clan. It had struck her as unusual for he had been the one to arrange the marriage between Ranma and her. "Why'd you call me?"

"I see your impertinence hasn't left you either. Don't tell me your amnesia is real, Kodachi," Happosai retorted as he stopped in front of her. "You're not the type to 'fall off a horse' as your husband has reported. I applaud your acting, though... it is superb."

Akane stared at him confused, not really understanding what was happening, "But -"

He silenced her with a wave of his pipe. "Although I admit, bringing you in the clan was a good idea, it also brings unwanted suspicion. I thought you said you wanted to be discreet."

Around this time, Akane decided that being 'discreet' was the best thing to do with the situation and went along with what he was saying. "I thought it was for the best, my lord."

Happosai gave her a suspicious look as the words left her lips. "You don't plan on double-crossing me, do you, my dear?" He gave her a wary glance. Akane did not doubt whether he had reservations for killing her.

"No, of course not," Akane tried to placate him as she gave him a forced smile. "Why would I do something as stupid as that?"

"You're right. It's stupid." He rubbed his temples, and for the first time, it seemed as if Happosai really was an old man suffering in his old age. There must be a lot of worries that came in holding a clan.

Akane shrugged, and tried to act as nonchalant as possible. It didn't help that she wasn't a good liar either. "Is there anything else, my lord?" She felt uneasy in his presence and she wanted to get away as quickly as possible. She would have said any lie just so she could get out.

"How is your little task progressing?" he prodded, taking another whiff off his pipe, and smiled. "I hope things are going well?"

"Yes, my lord." Akane shifted in her feet, she still knew nothing of what he was saying and his questions troubled her. Apparently, Happosai and Kodachi were doing something behind everyone's backs... and it was a potentially dangerous task.

He looked at her speculatively then nodded. "It better be. Kami-sama knows I pay you more than you're worth. If I didn't think you could do the job, I would have chosen some other crazy lunatic to do it for me."

Akane knew the interview was coming to an end, and she was nowhere near the answers she was looking for. In a desperate attempt to find out more, she asked, "What would you like me to do next?"

He gave a small chuckle. "The less I know about what you do, the better. Now you keep yourself busy ignoring me, and I'll do likewise. Besides, I'm paying you to think. I'm not supposed to spoon feed you your plans." With a small wave of his hands she was dismissed.

Akane walked away, letting go of the breath she didn't know she was holding as she stepped by the doors that led to the great hall. "What does Happosai see in you?"

Surprised at the sudden voice, Akane whirled around to find Ryu leaning against the doorway she had just left. She had not even noticed him. "You don't know what you're talking about, Kumon." It was the only way she knew to address him. Hoping that she had heard Nabiki correctly.

Ryu arched his eyebrows at hearing his last name, but he didn't comment on it. She didn't know him by any other. He held out her hand to her, but she politely declined as she followed him through the halls, hoping that he was leading her to the twins and not to another interview. She didn't know if her nerves could take another one. It was a surprise Happosai had not found her out easily.

'The question is... what are Happosai and Kodachi doing together?' She cursed softly as they rounded another corner. 'And why do I have a really bad feeling about it?'

* * *

As of this moment, Kodachi was breaking and entering into another donjon far from the Saotomes. Although she has done nothing of the sort in the years of her dormancy in the Saotome household, she still knew enough of the simple breaking and entering that had been self-taught. 

Kodachi vaulted over the wall discreetly, noticing that the compound had less samurai guarding it than the Saotomes. It would be easier to get by the halls undetected, but she knew the house less than Rose Brier. It would take her a while to navigate to her destination.

The Tendo abode was admittedly smaller than Happosai's donjon, and a bit more susceptible to the attack of a major house, Chisei had managed to keep their land to themselves by creating a low profile house that gave out their favors to major clans in the vicinity so that they would remain untouched. They kept their small lands around ally territory and neutral ones.

It was the act of a genius and a coward all at once. Kodachi had use for such a woman. The woman had one great weakness that could be exploited: her search for the three Tendos, the true holders of her not so vast land.

Kodachi opened the shoji towards the first floor, bypassing the guards at the gates. Compared to samurai guarding Happosai's donjon, they were children... Happosai's samurai had never given her trouble. It was his elite hatamoto that constantly irked her, especially if that retainer was her sister-in-law.

Still, if she was as protective of her power as the samurai that had tracked said, her trust would not come easily and fooling her could take longer time than she had. However, Kodachi needed money and was willing to go to any lengths to get it, even if she had to offer up fake siblings to get it.

She surveyed the area from the thin paneling. When she was sure it was clear she stepped on the tatami cautiously surveying the area where she could hide if there was a need.

She had barely finished the survey when she heard footsteps coming closer, and without thinking, she jumped at the ceiling, clinging to the two walls for her support, spreading her legs and her arms to match the width of the hall.

She felt her shoulder pop, and her eyebrow twitched at the three ladies that came up the hall. 'This is ridiculous.' She thought while clinging on so that she could not be discovered. 'I'm hiding from maids now. '

When they disappeared from her sight she dropped down on the floor and glared at them. 'Foolish girls.' Finally she went about to finding the rooms that would lead her to an audience with Chisei.

She was surprised by a knife on her back the cold steel sharp even against her clothes. "What brings you so deep in Tendo territory, intruder?" The voice was soft, and if Kodachi hadn't been expecting it, she would never have heard it.

"I bring a message for the lady of the house," Kodachi murmured, not bothering to turn around for the woman's benefit, sure that her adversary had no qualms about using the knife against her.

There was a soft grunt, and Kodachi had to wonder how you could make a grunt sound as soft as that. It was eerie the way she did it. "The Lady Chisei does not want to be interrupted from her duties."

"These are for her ears alone," Kodachi spat out. "Not for some insolent wench."

The woman pushed the dagger, Kodachi was sure it was already drawing blood. "Insult me one more time, and that message would not be heard." The woman was not jesting. Kodachi gave a small smirk. Though the lady of the house was a coward, her servants have spunk. What an unusual house Tendo rules.

"Would you kill someone who brings your Lady the Tendo heirs?" Kodachi asked meaningfully. The pressure alighted from her back, and was replaced by a hard shove towards what Kodachi had been looking for. Chisei.

The woman in the room was bewildered at the sudden burst of light. She stood up from the coverlet of her futon and blinked at the harsh light that filtered through the room, Kodachi presumed that the woman standing up was Chisei while her captor shoved her in.

"My lady," There was no deference in the tone of voice that the samurai spoke towards their liege, and more to the tones of an order. "I bring to you someone who has information on the Tendo siblings."

Chisei rose from her bed as she lit a lamp beside her table, she stared at Kodachi for a moment then turned to the one who had captured her. "It seems the ghost of Tendo Akane haunts us tonight." She pointed at Kodachi a bewildered look on her face. "I thought she had died. She had died in front of my eyes."

Taking her firmly by the shoulders and turning her around to face her, her captor raised an eyebrow. "What brings you here, Lady Tendo? I doubt it is to turn your siblings over, so I think it is to give the house of Tendo an offer." The woman samurai tapped her finger against her chin. "So what is your offer?"

Kodachi scowled at the woman. "I'm not here to give it to you. Fool."

Slowly raising an eyebrow she exchanged a look with Chisei, she did not even bother to hide her surprise. "So it is not her ghost but her twin that finds her way to our doorstep." She lifted Kodachi's face and turned it side to side for inspection, as if seeing it for the first time.

"The likeness is exquisite. Even her mother would not be able to tell she's a fake." Chisei agreed then frowned as she surveyed Kodachi. "She needs to cut her hair. Akane preferred her hair short."

Kodachi wondered what had given her away. She had hinted at nothing that would directly imply that she wasn't the woman whose body she held.

The samurai nodded in agreement. "Yes, Akane would." Taking her dagger once more she cut the ponytail that Kodachi had recently sprouted and tugged on her long blue-black locks. In a moment, her hair was sheared to chin length. "There, perfect. The lady is suited for impersonating Akane."

Chisei walked towards them, bringing the lamp and shining it over Kodachi's face, she gave a smile that Kodachi had seen only once in the mirror. Kodachi was going to like this woman. "Your name?"

Kodachi snatched back the lock of hair that the woman had cut then shook their hands from her person before standing up straight to announce herself. "I am Saotome Kodachi-noh-Ranma."

Both of the women took a step back. "Kodachi Kuno?" The house of Kuno was well known, but the House of Saotome was powerful, most heads knew of the clan and its leaders. The samurai gave a small laugh and then shook her head. "What brings my lady to the House of Tendo?"

"I'll help you get the Tendo heirs, if you help me ruin the house of Saotome." Kodachi crossed her arms demanding her answers before she completely trust the women. She had not given away anything overt when she had come in the room. "How did you know that I was not Tendo Akane?"

"Simple." The samurai who had shoved her in smiled. "That's because **I** am Tendo Chisei." Chisei pointed to the woman they had roused and Kodachi had mistaken as her. "She is the only person left alive who has seen the Tendo heirs before they disappeared."

Kodachi hid her surprise well. Chisei looked just a little older than Ranma was. From the information she had gathered before she had entered the house, it made her only around fifteen when the Tendo patriarch died. She had a thirst for power and an equally jealous mind for one so young.

Chisei offered her hand to Kodachi. "I sense that you want much, Saotome Kodachi. What shall you bargain for the Tendo heirs' lives?"

* * *

After their short conversation, which had left Genma's mouth hanging open and Nodoka coldly silent towards him. She had explained that no one except Tetsuma had known about the twins, and it was one of the reasons why she had even remotely considered letting them train under him. Because the twins were his. 

But when he had tried to broach the subject of telling them she had vehemently opposed the idea. "Ranma and Nabiki have enough trouble in their hands as it is. What good would it do to tell them that you're their father? They have spent their entire life with you. Let me spend my last days with them."

And for the life of him, he couldn't argue with that. Because he had robbed her of so much, and because even after all of those years, he knew that he still cared for her.

Still he needed to talk to Ranma, if not because of the entire paternity news, then because of Akane's wardship. He had found Ranma leaning against one of the walls watching Akane intently.

-

Ranma had decided to keep a close watch on his wife because she might attempt another one of her idiotic plans to go home again. He rolled the foot that had landed badly, but the pain was already dull. Ranma had always been a fast healer, but the neko-ken tended to accelerate the healing process.

His mind was pulled away from the thought when Genma stepped towards him. After the training trip and Genma teaching the twins all they knew, their foster father had rarely talked to them.

True, Genma occasionally took up teaching again, but never as extensive as the twins' own regimen. In this tournament, one of the students that had failed to beat him was Akane, and at Happosai's decree, Genma would train her.

"Your wife surprised me, Ranma," Genma commented as he wiped his glasses against his loose white gi. "I had once assessed that your wife would do well in battle if she loses her dementia. I was more surprised that she did lose her affliction over the fact that she's reached this far."

Genma regarded Kodachi's fighting skills as adequate. He seemed impressed with her recent knowledge of Anything Goes and glossed over the fact that the woman had just taken one year for a complete change in fighting style. "Not quite like all those girls you engaged me to, eh old man?"

"Spunkier, a little less clingy and makes up her own mind. Quite a catch." When Genma put it that way, she did sound like she was the wife of the year. If only demented, sadistic and cheat did not go with it. "I never thought old man Happosai had the eye for good women."

"He doesn't," Ranma argued as he nodded towards her direction. Genma swiveled his gaze towards her. "You forgot that she's quite an actress, thinks she owns the world and is totally insane."

Genma frowned as he turned towards his one time charge. "Now, now. She isn't exactly **insane**. She just has a weird way of expressing her joy, is too possessive, drugs you a little too much cheats in fights. Since it's **Anything Goes** I could hardly call it cheating. That doesn't really sound insane to me. She sounds more like Shampoo if she wasn't so -- eccentric. I talked to her after our match. Are you sure you're not misjudging her?"

"Not after years of marriage. There **are** limits to the 'anything' part in 'Anything Goes' you know. I guess it was simply lost in translation," Ranma retorted then ran his hand through his hair. "Why are you taking her side in this anyway? Wait I don't want to hear it. I don't want to talk about my wife right now. What have you been doing? Last I heard you've been training those brats of Jiro all over Japan."

"They've outgrown me." Genma chuckled. Sometimes Ranma thought that Genma's only life was the training of the Saotome children. He never fought for anything else. He's never participated in the little wars Happosai was fond of or internal politics, which Ranma was sure he could have. "In fact, I was here to get a new ward. I didn't expect it to be your wife."

"Frankly, I don't think she would last with your training methods," Ranma said bluntly. It was a wonder that anyone ever survived Genma's tactics at all. "Most of what you taught us bordered on the insane."

"Only through pushing harder could you realize your limits, and overcome them," Genma countered. That had always been his motto, next to anything could be turned into training and the more idiotic the better. "Creative minds have always been known to survive any kind of bad training."

"Ohh... so you're admitting it was bad training?" Ranma shot back.

"That last part wasn't from me. Some old crone said it, it just sounded good and I've wanted to try it for some time now," Genma admitted. "Well, anyway, I've petitioned for her to be transferred out of my hands and to take one of the boys Genryu's taking care of."

"Why? Still vehemently opposed to the idea of training girls?" Ranma asked. Genma had given them quite a lot of lectures on the fact that girls were the weaker sex. Nabiki finally shut him up when she beat him at the tournament proper. "I thought your views on that matter have changed."

"I was never opposed to training girls, Ranma. It was just a way to get Nabiki riled up. Children need to have a little incentive when they fight and Nabiki had always been difficult to figure out." He smiled, remembering their times in China. "However, I do think that Akane would be better suited if she trained under you."

"Me?" He looked at Genma squarely to figure out if he was joking or not.

"Don't look surprised boy, you've managed to train your two children. And it's been a while since somebody has trained in the advanced lessons under you," Genma pointed out, although Ranma did teach in the advanced levels, it was hard to find a student that had the same passion for the art as he himself had at that young age, and therefore teaching stints had been fast and short lived.

"Admittedly her fighting style is Anything Goes, but the way she uses it is on the far end of the spectrum of how I use my own attacks." Ranma judged, having already completely analyzed his wife's style the first time he fought her. "She keeps mostly on the defensive, her arsenal on offensive could be better. She relies on her strength, which is not much but could give others a run for their money. She has **no** finesse to speak of and wins from force over style, which is not bad but not entirely good either. But mostly, I cannot teach her because she is **grounded**. To teach her more of the things I use would be forcing her to unlearn most of her foundations and relearning again. I would think someone like Ryu in the brute strength department would be a better candidate for her."

"Quit complaining boy," Genma commanded. "You don't need to retrain her. You have everything you need. You're looking at this at the perspective of someone who's teaching off a blank slate, and as you've pointed out, she isn't. Refine her moves. You're brilliant in deconstructing fights, all you need to do is teach her the moves that you've seen in the 'brute strength' department as you've called it and add touches of your own."

Improvising has always been one of Ranma's stronger traits, and dismantling moves was second nature to him. He already had Akane's style down after one fight. His uptake for the fighting styles and his understanding of them was complete that he could copy almost any move as long as he has seen it.

"You could pass the responsibility to teach her to me, but I'm not teaching her anything more than she already knows." Ranma shook his head. He did not want more contact with Kodachi than necessary, and being a teacher for her required more than twenty-four hours of guidance. "We've already made a lot of exceptions for her."

"I understand your misgivings, but at least teach her how to control her chi," Genma suggested, knowing that Ranma would bend his rules a little if someone might get hurt from his lack of action. "Master Happosai has noted that she does have potential to wield it and wild chi is always messy to deal with. Maybe after that, you'd have your own heir boy. A student might give you the yearning for a child. You're quite overdue for one. You're not getting younger."

His own heir was not something that Ranma enjoyed discussing. It was a pressing matter, not because of the martial arts title, since Happosai looked like he was going to live a couple more years, but because Nerima needed a daimyo in case he died. "I have Hanae."

"We both know that Hanae is good, however she won't reach past advanced training." Genma paused as he let his words sink in, waiting to see Ranma's reaction. "She is not Saotome by blood, Ranma, and most important of all, she will never **surpass** you. She's not even close to your equal at that age."

"My heir is none of your business," Ranma argued angrily, not knowing how the old man realized Hanae was not his own. "Hanae is my child."

"You are my greatest pride Ranma. Maybe your training is the only thing that's keeping me within Saotome ranks in the first place." This was a sentiment Ranma had never heard from the old man before, and the pride was apparent in his voice. "You need an heir boy. Don't let your art die out with you."

With that Genma turned to go.

Ranma shook his head. Although most of the time, his old teacher barely made sense, this time he was right. It was a teacher's goal to train someone to surpass him, and Ranma has not seen such an heir yet. It **was** past the time that he should produce an heir. He was about to turn around to look for Hanae when this time, Akane moved to talk to him.

"Please, Ranma, could we go home?" Akane asked her eyes low on the ground. Ranma sensed that the night had tired his wife, and he felt a twinge of pity. The tournament did make one exert too much, and he knew she probably was feeling the brunt of the fights that she lost.

"I'm heir, Kodachi," Ranma reminded her, but he obliged her by walking with her. He moved towards the corridors guiding her towards the room that had been assigned to her for the night, she seemed lost in the middle of the large winding pathways. "Both Nabiki and I have duties in this tournament."

When he reached their room he slid the door open and frowned at the fact that Ifuku was not there. Most of the maids were being given dinner at the kitchen, and were helping with the servings of the gathering downstairs. Lighting one of the lamps in the room, Ranma looked up to find Akane staring at him. "I'll call Ifuku for your bath -"

"No, it's all right." Akane mustered up a smile kneeling down. "I'd rather stay here and talk with you."

Talking was something Ranma did not want to do at the moment. He desperately wanted to go away. He did not want to deal with her yet. "I have things to attend to, Kodachi."

"Kodachi," Akane whispered the name as if hearing it for the first time. She shook her head at it. "I wish you'd stop calling me that. I thought you already did."

"It's your name," Ranma told her softly. "I won't call you by anything else."

Akane let the topic go as she sat down on the futon. "Tell me more about your school of martial arts, Ranma. Tell me what I've just been handed over."

"A privilege," Ranma answered then closed the door giving up on leaving for the moment. "There's nothing to tell. The name says it all. You failed mid-air combat."

"I haven't trained in mid-air combat. It's not unusual to fail in something that you have no idea how to do," Akane defended herself. He seemed more comfortable to talk about the arts so she settled for it for now. "Does that annoy you?"

"No." Ranma sighed. He found no reason to be annoyed that she failed in the rudimentary forms. He was not her teacher nor was he the one responsible for her achievements. "However, aerial combat is the specialty of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts."

"So I've been told. Over and over and over again," Akane said glumly taking out the kodachi from their respective places on her sides and putting them in a small trunk that she had used to bring her belongings in. "I'm sure other branches teach ones that take root in the ground."

"The Saotomes are the only ones who practice Anything Goes." There was pride in his voice, and a bit of over protectiveness at her apparent slur on the school. "Sure there are teachers who teach basic ground movements, not all fights are done in mid-air, but whatever could be done in the air you could do on solid ground."

Akane sighed as she untied her hair. "I don't understand you Saotomes. How many fights do you have in mid-air anyway? There aren't that many mercenaries that say, 'Hey, the Saotomes specialize in mid-air combat, let's try to beat them up in the air.'"

Ranma made a reprimanding sound at her while shaking his head. "This is precisely what you get when you train a non-Saotome with Saotome skills. Using aerial combat in fights is done when you **force** your opponent to compete in an arena that only **we** specialize in. Besides all the jumping and evading is an integrated step of using midair combat for fights in solid ground. I don't expect you to find the practical reasons in fighting in mid-air, but you have to admit the feeling is wonderful."

Though Ranma could tell the world that he hated her, he would engage in any conversation as long as it dealt with martial arts. He was animated when he talked about the style, inherently proud of what it is and immensely happy to talk about what it could be. Akane didn't want the conversation to end. "And what feeling would that be?"

"To fly," Ranma responded immediately. At that moment, Akane saw the idealism in Ranma. He loved the art with passion. You could clearly see **why** he was heir of Anything Goes beyond his mastery of the style. He was probably the only one who understood what Anything Goes meant beyond the fighting. "You should try it sometime."

"Flying?" Akane repeated, for the concept seemed too farfetched in her own mind towards what Anything Goes was. Especially since in her time, flying had been limited to the animated characters in manga or anime.

Ranma stared at her for a moment as if trying to remember what it was that he was doing here with her. He shook his head to clear it and suddenly remembering that he was not on good terms with her, he turned around abruptly. "I have to go. Happosai or my sister must be looking for me. Good night Lady Saotome."

"Wait, Ranma, please," Akane pleaded when he was half out of the opened door. Realizing that she could not prolong the moment, that in an instant the connection she had shared with him was long gone. "I want to understand what went wrong."

"Nothing went wrong, Kodachi," Ranma answered quietly. His hand did not leave the shoji nor did he turn to face her. "We just found out the truth. That we're being stupid about trying to understand each other when we obviously can't."

"Don't you want to know what Happosai called me in for?" Akane asked, in a desperate attempt to keep him with her for a few moments more.

He turned towards her, the question in his face, although he didn't voice it. But Akane's silence demanded him to respond so he said wearily, "If you're going to tell me that he's invited you to share his bed I'd rather not hear it."

Akane opened her mouth in an indignant squack. She sputtered, "Do you think I'm capable of such a thing?"

"You tell me, Kodachi," Ranma dared her, turning the question around. "You always surprise me with the things that you would willingly do."

"Then I won't tell you, not until you ask about it from me," Akane informed him, stubbornly withholding the information until he acknowledged the change in her.

Ranma lowered his eyes both in disappointment and the briefest pangs of pain. "Then goodnight, my lady." With that, he stepped out of the door.

-

Nabiki managed to find Ranma just when he was stepping out of Akane's room. He blinked at her when she motioned for him as they walked slowly towards the convening area. "You had a fight with your wife again?" Nabiki asked raising an eyebrow at his frown.

"That's not something to be surprised about," Ranma said as they rounded the corner. He sounded exasperated at her question, although Nabiki noted sadness present as well. He had not wanted his marriage to slowly disintegrate. He had not wanted Kodachi to be real. He had wanted Akane. "I never expected it to last."

Nabiki did not ask what 'it' was. She placed her hand on his arm. "Happosai is expecting you to brief the parents of the children on what they're to expect now that they're in advanced training. Hanae and Sei are both ready to go home. They're sharing quarters down at the east hall, you might want to see them."

"I have to pass by the kitchen first. Kodachi needs someone to tend to her bruises. She's moving stiffly." Though the feelings between him and Akane were awkward, he was still her husband. And Ranma was always a good husband, regardless of the wife. "That slam by Kana on her back is starting to take its toll. Now that there are going to be more free rooms, could I **please** get a separate one?"

"God, you whine too much. We won't even be staying long enough for a different room to have effect. Just pretend you don't need sleep or bunk up in my room for the night," Nabiki scolded, giving him a push towards the convening room. "I'll find someone suitable to treat her, just attend to your duties."

When she was sure he was not going to leave because of his wife, Nabiki whirled around to find Ifuku. The maid had proven to be easier to find than her brother, and she had given instructions for the maid to bring up a fresh basin of hot water and towels. Ifuku nodded in acquiescence and moved to find the materials that she had been asked to obtain.

Since she didn't have anything to do at the moment and she was naturally curious about the recent fight Akane had just shared with her brother, Nabiki decided that looking over Akane's wounds would not be so bad.

She knocked on Akane's door softly and saw her lying face down on the futon. Nabiki noticed that Akane did seem to be favoring her back so she entered the room quickly and closed the door behind her. She moved towards the washcloth and basin that Ifuku laid down in the room before she left for dinner.

Nabiki surveyed the woman quickly. "You don't have a fever, do you?" It was the closest thing to worry for her that Akane had ever heard from Ranma's sister. Akane weakly shook her head, but Nabiki placed her hand against her forehead anyway. Then, she sighed. "You know it's not healthy for a husband and wife to fight every goddamned minute."

Nabiki didn't need an answer when Akane turned her head away. "Why must all of Ranma's fiancée's be as moody as the weather? There isn't a single normal girl among all of you."

"Well if he minded how we actually felt, then we wouldn't be 'moody'," Akane huffed defensively. Her ails seemingly disappearing for a moment.

Nabiki rolled her eyes. 'There **is** that.' Nabiki thought as she helped Akane up on a sitting position so she could take off the woman's kimono and take a look at her back.

"What I simply do not understand is that if you think him at fault," Nabiki broke off as knelt down so that she was facing Akane eye to eye. "Is that you still tolerate him."

"When someone hates you, and you do not want them to do so, what do you do?" Akane averted her eyes as she protested quietly. The fire that she had moments before had disappeared into the depths of what Nabiki thought was genuine sadness.

"You're arguing with a faulty premise." Nabiki gave the woman a thin smile. "I ask you again, if you're so convinced he hates you, then why stay?"

"I don't know."

"So I guess you're giving up. I wonder sometimes how long a woman like you would last. He hates you." Nabiki gave her a hard stare projecting to Akane just how long she had thought Akane would have lasted. "Okay. I understand."

"You don't!" Akane practically shouted, all of the pressure of the entire competition crashing down on her, combined with her frustration with her almost non-relationship with her husband. "I have worked for a year in this place. A year, Nabiki. I've been arguing with Ranma since the first day we met. I think it's high time that I be given my peace."

"You should," Nabiki agreed, but before she could say anything else someone knocked against the shoji and Ifuku stepped in from the corridor. "Ifuku, Lady Akane needs a hot compress on her back."

Ifuku bowed apologizing for her delay and started to work, changing the cold water from the basin into the hot one from the pitcher she had carried up.

Before she left Nabiki looked at Akane in the eye. "Sometimes I wonder at your determination, Akane. Good night, my lady."

* * *

**Footnotes: **

**(1)** I'm taking a gamble on Hinako's age. Since she looked like a child when Akane and Ranma were sixteen, maybe she'd look like a teenager when they were grownups. I mean her child form does grow up, right... which makes me wonder what her child form will be when she's 75 or something.

**Additional notes of worth:**

For the manga impaired: **Ryu Kumon** is not my character, for those of you that have noticed him on either fanfiction or have bought the manga... Nabiki's flashback was also mostly derived from the manga. I'm not planning to tell the in-betweens because that would be too long and would take out the purpose of this entire thing... If you're really interested... it's in volume 28 of the manga.

Exerpts of it are already in my webpage, check it out. Since ff.n doesn't allow linking out from the fics, please proceed to my author's page where my webpage is linked

Also the oath taking was heavily revised from an original work :) I'm not very poetic. Here's the original of the oath. As some of you may have noticed, it's the Hippocratic Oath with a few changes:

**Hippocrates circa 400 BC (Be my light)**

Science not for profit is my bond  
Healing, a gift from the Great Phycician  
Knows no barrier to my utmost care  
My ballpark is not for sale  
My experience not for auction

I shall keep the trust of the sick  
Cure, care comfort, my signature  
I am the trustee of the sick  
By schooling, training and profession  
No broker shall stay my healing hand  
No profit becloud my noble call

I have recently found out that Japanese people don't have middle names. Hmmm... They have a first name and they have a last name but never middle names. So the entire Nabiki thing with two names is improbable. However, it's too late to change the entire story line for that sole reason. It's a minor fact that just strips Nabiki of a -ma in the end, and not terribly important, but I just had to say it :) Sorry for the mistake.

We could think of it as a 'second name'. A different name bestowed on her, quite a stretch but I'm sure you could suspend reality for a while to digest that.

Lastly, **donjon **is a fortified main tower of a castle or a keep. It is usually your main tower within a fortress. It's not a misspelling of dojou :)

* * *

**Disclaimer**: Ranma and co. were borrowed from the brilliant mind of Rumiko Takahashi

* * *

**Author's Notes: **

**06/07 edit**: I'm from an Asian country, most of which have a respectful term for their older siblings, therefore I can't believe that half-way through Yuki refer to an older cousin as Eruchii and not Eruchii-oniisama. I've changed that here and in the succeeding chapters.

Sorry for the lateness of this chapter. It's because of the fighting scenes. Truthfully this would have finished ages ago if not for those. The fight scene on top of the bamboo was supposed to be Jusenkyou like. I was stupefied when I watched House of Flying Daggers, pointed at the screen and said, "So that's how you should write a bamboo fight scene".

This was written **before** I watched House of Flying Daggers, so I don't know if it managed to catch the same essence as watching that movie has. I hoped you enjoy and see you guys again. Oh and if you have comments for my fighting scenes, especially the bamboo one write to me. I always try to incorporate reader ideas.

I hope the inaguration scene was believable and that you were able to feel the same terror Akane went through when she was pushed off the 'goddamned mountain' :) I based that experience off something similar 'final rights' into something crazy in college (similar to a sorority but no hazing and such for people who don't know about it).

On another note, for the entire feeling on top of a mountain what I did for research was climb the smallest volcano in the world! Taal Volcano! I was taking lots of pictures and taking note of the entire experience so that I could get that on paper. It's not exactly a tall mountain, and maybe it's three times shorter than what I percieved Akane and the rest of the gang climbed, but it was fun. I hope my words were enough to express both the wonder and the terror that an experience like the inaguration brought to people who were undergoing those rights and I'll see if I can upload pics from that experience in my webpage when I post this!

And lastly on Genma's description of Kodachi! They're borrowed from various pro-Kodachi people in the web. Thanks for your input!

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These are the most common questions I've recieved and to satisfy those who've thought of them but don't want to review, or those who've reviewed but don't give their e-mail addresses for reply, here're your answers: 

**1) Will Kodachi and Akane switch bodies?**

This you have to read on to find out. :) I haven't really decided yet, but there are pros and cons to them switching. So yes, I've thought of this I've debated myself on this, and on the verdict, you'll have to wait and see.

**2) When will your next update be?**

AS OF JANUARY 22 My next update might be ... in a year and not in six months as originally planned. This is because of my recent harddrive crash which wiped out all of the finished chapters of Rend complete with FOOTNOTES and research that was done for the series. Therefore, to re-create the chapters, I will have to research everything again or get my harddrive back. My harddrive data recovery was priced at - USD 500. I earn USD 4 a day and use USD 1 for my meals. That means I have to go into 27 and a half weeks of starvation to earn that much money.

If you want details of the crash (why would you?) or want to see me rant off, or hear updates of the fic while I'm writing it, I have a livejournal account under the name iceofdreams Just look it up and look at the memories for rend. Everything is there, the Ryu Kumon arc, the mountain we climbed on, and the rant about my harddrive crashing including frequent updates of Rens status. However, there are frequent updates about my life too. (It **is** a live**journal** for a reason) if you have an LJ and want to friend me, go right on ahead.

-

Gomen. In six months probably. I'm a college student. Unlike back when chapters 1-8 were written, I have less time to myself. (That and I've acquired the nasty nasty habit of surfing for scanlations when I have free time). However, if you've reviewed me before and you've signed in or you posted your e-mail address, I reply, and more often than not when I post the next chapter, I send notification e-mails.

You could also use Author Alerts, since it works, I tested it out already.

If you don't like receiving the mails, please say so in your review. I don't like to spam you.

I do revise backlog chapters in the middle of the next update though. If you've noticed I've revised Prologue - 7 extensively since my last update. In fact chapter 6-7 was uploaded at the same time as this (newly revised!) . There are fewer grammatical errors, some length is sometimes added and some such. Rian's birthing scene was changed, some scenes were added in chapter 7 and if I'm not mistaken chapter 4 as well.

Please note that there is fanart in my homepage. Just visit my author's page in ff.n and click on the link for the homepage.

**3) Will the story end / will you finish even if your harddrive crashed?**

Yes. Definitely. I hate seeing stories that never end. Especially if I'm soo hooked on it. So yes this will end. Will it end in chapter 13. Definitely not. Will it end in chapter 18? Not yet. Maybe around 18 or 19. DO NOT give up on the fic. :)

Even if my harddrive crashed, I will finish rend, Rend has been my life's work, and it will finish no matter what.

**4) Do you want me to write to you?**

Yes, please. Anything is fine. Even the little notes on what you think may happen is great. Even the notes on what you want to happen is fine. Hehe, I discuss some events when this happens. I've even answered questions like: What do you think Akane uses as shampoo back then... yes and I do try to research my answers here.

iCe

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**website: **ice _dot_ esmartdesign _dot _com  
**e-mail**: siuane _at_ gmail _dot _com  
**livejournal**: ice _underscore_ of _underscore_ dreams

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I want to gripe about this fanfiction net overriding CLEAN uploading. Even txt files don't get through well anymore! I have to spend an entire hour editing what it looks like ONLINE when it took me 5 mins tops before!

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I write when the spirit moves, and I make sure it moves everyday. 


	15. Part 14: November

**Revision History:**  
06/02/07 – Changed the way Sohin referred to Yuki as per Tin's suggestion.  
12/25/05 – Release date

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**Special Thanks to:  
**Tin, Jourdan Bickham, Roja Cyd, Howard Russel, Rgorman, Sakk, Bubbly Minx 

And to the person reading this.

**Dedicated to** Nonny.  
**Merry Christmas! **

**

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**

For loneliness is a silver word,  
An acrid wine, or a broken chord --  
And loneliness is sharp and sweet,  
Unleavened bread for some to eat.  
**Fansisco G. Tonogbanua  
**_Hermit's Chant_

_**

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**_

**Rendezvous with Fate v.3  
**by iCe  
Chapter 14

_... Everything spun out of control... out of **my** control. I think I finally know how you felt like in one of your depression spells... and I wish I didn't ... _

_

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_

Ifuku was used to traveling long distances. It was the story of her life. When she was young she had been handed from one house to the other until she had settled with the mother she had grown up with. It was there that she learned to be a servant to the Saotome household, and then was raised as a lady's servant for the Lord Ranma's future wife.

She was also afraid when it came to traveling alone as a woman. So, for protection's sake, she changed into men's clothing for long travels. She had sewn a set of clothes that she usually wore at the designated time when she met Sohin. A peasant's garb that was more suited for a man than a woman. She hid her long hair with a small straw hat, hiding her face in the shadows. In the mirror she looked exactly as a man should.

The past three weeks since she left Rose Brier had left her in the middle of the trees without a solid path while remaining deep in Kamakura's perimeter. She was avoiding all major roads because there would be checkpoints and questions, and Ifuku was in no state to answer questions. She wiped her brow uncomfortably as the heat of the sun seeped through the reed hat. It wasn't much protection and she was wearing clothes she wasn't accustomed to.

Idly, she wondered what had prompted Akane to suddenly give her the much needed vacation. She dismissed the thought almost immediately. She was barely functional the past weeks and she had been going through her work with a distracted air. The empty grave had troubled her, and constant worry plagued her. She felt that the anxiety would not leave her until they found out just why the grave was empty and what had happened to the body buried there. Still, her thoughts wandered back to the time when Akane had given her leave.

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Ifuku watched silently as Akane stared in contemplation into the mess that littered the floor of the room. She has been increasingly frantic in her search for her brother since the inauguration she passed for the last month. Ranma seemed to be looking the other way with regard to her training, preferring not to train her and leaving Akane with too much time in her hands for letter writing. They only managed a couple of sessions in the weeks since they arrived from Happosai's donjon.

Akane was facing a low table with an inkwell and a feather pen that Ifuku had managed to scour up. Crumpling the letter then throwing it over her shoulder, Akane gathered the other pile that she had discarded. They were the only things that littered the otherwise clean room.

Sighing, Akane put the pen down. "Why can't I do this? He's my **brother**!" She forcibly hit the flat of her hand against the table, which resulted to all the things jumping up and down. It had been lucky that none of the ink had spilled.

"Maybe because he's not my real brother?" she muttered under her breath. She had yet to meet Tatewaki Kuno. When she asked, she was met with a stare of either compassion or mild disgust. It appeared that Tatewaki was just as popular as his sister.

Finally making up her mind, Akane wrote a curt, but polite, letter telling Kuno that she wanted to talk to him and that he was invited to Rose Brier for chanoyu if he wanted to. Not that Akane knew a thing about the formal tea ceremony, but she had decided that she was going to learn.

Had she known that the person she sought was just beyond the walls of Rose Brier, she could have been spared of the pain and the hurt that the next days was going to bring her. But that information had been limited to Nabiki, Sohin and the peasants who were at the marketplace... none of whom thought telling her as important, entertained the idea of meeting with her, or had the chance to do so.

Still, the letter had been her last hope. Akane sighed as Ifuku walked away with the letter to attach to one of the pigeons. She summoned for Ifuku again. Unless that letter brings her miracles, she was giving up for the moment. "Ifuku... would you like to leave?"

The maid looked puzzled at the proposition that had never been offered to her. She had been one of the few maids who Kodachi had never disposed and yet the suggestion coming now, when her mind was troubled, was tempting. "You're asking me to leave, Lady Akane?"

Offering a weak smile to the woman, Akane shook her head. "Ever heard of a vacation, Ifuku? You know getting out... doing the things you want... seeing the world." There was not much of the world to see in the 1600's but Akane was trying to make a point.

Ifuku looked at the letter in her hands then at Akane. "But my lady, you'd be alone." Ifuku had gone about in an almost normal pattern ever since she had been assigned to Kodachi. And that meant a week leave in Minazuki, the water month. She had never been given more, because Kodachi was not a lenient mistress. That week was already enough for her.

"You can give me one of the maids for training." Akane waved her hands. "I'm sure you've worked hard enough for a break... maybe a month or two?"

"I shall give you Sara for the job. Will that be satisfactory, my lady?" Akane recalled Sara and nodded at Ifuku's choice.

Ifuku once more started to leave when Akane gave her a small bundle wrapped in a handkerchief that Akane found among Kodachi's little trinkets. "I know it isn't much, but I would like you to have this."

Ifuku didn't open the parcel. It was rude to do so in the presence of that who had given it but the confused stare she gave her mistress was not lost on Akane. "It's for your loyal service, Ifuku. Please, remember me when you wear it."

Ifuku nodded as she thanked her before going.

-------------------------

Ifuku frowned, Akane had given her two kodachi, the very ones that Akane had been bestowed when she gained acceptance in the inauguration. She had not wanted to accept the gift when she had opened it, but she knew that refusing it would be ill-mannered. So she carried it with her to consult with Sohin about them. Luckily, she knew how to fight with it, although it would be just her luck if someone accused her of stealing it.

Although peasants were allowed to use swords, the combination of a short one for beheading and the katana were reserved for samurai status. The Kodachi wouldn't be mistaken as the samurai's twin swords but she tried to hide them both anyway. If she was questioned, she had more than the swords to be accountable for.

She looked at the sky and shading her eyes against the sun's harsh rays. From its position she noted that three sticks passed since she had left her sleeping area, a tree that had been uprooted by some means or the other. Ifuku sensed that a fight had been responsible for her shelter.

As she walked over to the edge of the small forest, she felt a sword to her back. 'Great...' Ifuku thought 'A very nice time to be robbed.' She turned around meekly, fully expecting some highway bandit and coming face to face with a Saotome samurai instead.

"What are you doing out of the path?" the samurai demanded, Ifuku recognized Omokage and frowned. It had not been that long since the incident with the pigeon and he had caught her again. She grimaced at the samurai guards, not understanding their rotation.

"I have been given a temporary leave," Ifuku informed him, a little thankful at least, that he could recognize her, even if they were not on the best terms. She brought the hat down to reveal her face and her bound hair. "Lady Akane has given it to me."

Omokage sheathed his sword when he identified her and then gave her a disapproving look. "You're acting unusually these days, Ifuku." he commented pointing towards the nearest path. "That's where the road is. Stay on it."

"Sorry, sir, I'm in a hurry," Ifuku apologized still holding her ground, a little in panic. Although she knew how to fight, she wasn't sure if she could hold her own against one of Saotome Ranma's own men. "I believe this is a shorter way."

Omokage gave her a look of disbelief. Her self-made road, in truth, would actually take her a several days more than the usual to reach her destination. He let her statement pass turning his attention elsewhere, "Why are you dressed up like that?"

She wanted to see Sohin as soon as possible, and delays like Omokage could lead her well into weeks if he chose to detain her. The main road would just bring her unwanted attention and Omokage was making things difficult.

Worrying at the direction that the questions were taking them, Ifuku used her haughtiest voice to reply, "Omokage-san, I never knew it was your business to pry into peasant's affairs, especially my own."

He was startled at the answer. It wasn't natural for peasants to answer back. Especially not to samurai that were overseers to the same household that they lived in. "Not when they're acting according to rules." He scowled at her, exasperation showing. "You're impossible, you know that?"

"No **you're**--" her words were cut off by Omokage's hand, silencing her effectively as it clamped over her mouth while his other hand snaked around her waist to carry her with him as he jumped towards one of the trees. He signaled for her silence before he let her go.

Ifuku managed to look at him indignantly before settling on the branch that he had chosen for their hiding place. A few seconds later, two women came through the field they just vacated. Ifuku's eyes squinted to see through the leaves.

"There's something familiar..." she whispered as she tried to inch closer.

Omokage caught a fistful of her shirt in an instant, glaring at her. "You really are not fit for reconnaissance work are you?"

She matched his scathing words, "I am a **peasant**, Omokage. I'm not supposed to be fit for 'reconnaissance'." She took her eyes back towards the duo but they vanished when she was talking to Omokage.

Omokage tried to look for signs of where they went, trying as much as possible not to give away their hiding place. "I do not like this."

Ifuku broke free of his grasp and jumped from the high branch that was their hiding place landing on her behind. With as much dignity as she could muster, she pulled herself up from the ground to dust herself. "I'm supposed to be on my way to Sohin. I'm already fearful that he might have moved too fast already."

She turned around proudly. When Omokage didn't come down from the tree, she didn't wait for his permission to leave. She was about to move out again when she saw the two ladies they had spotted moments ago blocking her way.

It took a second for her to register the faces in front of her. She gasped raising her hand towards her mouth. She had not seen her sister recently, but she knew the face perfectly, how could she not?

Yet the impossibility of the circumstances froze her in place -- because it was also almost a year since the death of her sister. The possibility clenched at her heart, a confirmation that her sister was well. The reason for the empty grave. A soft question managed to escape her lips, "Akane?"

'Akane' turned back at her in one swift motion, her surprise couldn't be hidden from her face as well, finally she turned towards her companion. "Ari, Don't tell me this **peasant** is Tendo Shori."

"How did you know?" Ari asked as she moved towards the paralyzed Ifuku.

"Because she's been my maid for the past seven years," the woman spat out in revulsion. She could not see the reason why anyone would willingly renounce themselves of their title and pick up an identity akin to that of a slave.

Something clicked in Ifuku's mind as she heard the last sentence from her opponent. She broke into a run as she shouted in warning, "Omokage!" her strangled call went out. She wasn't sure if he was going to aid her, but it would help her even the playing field. Ari was a ruthless opponent who didn't hesitate for the kill. She was also one of the few women who she needed to kill desperately. "That woman is Saotome Kodachi."

Both of the women turned to her sharply at her call, Ifuku dared not to look back at the face of the sister she had thought was months dead. Random facts were clicking into place as she ran.

Kodachi hissed at her companion, "I thought you said capturing her would be easy." She started the chase towards her former servant.

"I said locating her would be easy. Capturing her is a different story." She took out two short daggers at her side, throwing them at the girl. One had grazed Ifuku's foot the other passed her harmlessly. "Shori's brother was ten years of age when Chisei came to power. He was heir, and he knew enough of the arts to be a nuisance. In the years we tried to capture them, he taught his two sisters the art."

Kodachi growled as she readied her trademark weapon, a single black rose filled with poison. "How did she manage to hide as a peasant at the Saotomes?"

"We never knew she had hidden as a maid in Saotome territory," Ari admitted readying another blade. Ari moved with grace and precision, her agility compensating for her lack of height. "It was the last thing we expected her to do... she was a spoiled child. We know she frequented the area because we have sources saying Akane is buried near here."

Kodachi readied to throw her projectile when Ifuku stopped running and turned around abruptly to face them. "I am Tendo Shori, First Lady of Sanuki, Second Heir to the Tendo Legacy. I am the true holder of what Chisei has stolen. And if you expect to kill me without a fight... you are sadly mistaken. Prepare yourself, because I will be the last person you see today."

Kodachi gave a laugh, confirming her identity as Ifuku's patroness. Ifuku could not be mistaken, no matter how unworldly it may seem. Kodachi Saotome was in her sister's likeness. Kodachi's condescending voice was strong in the air as she stopped running, giving Ifuku a long calculating look. "You talk big for a peasant, Ifuku."

"Do not underestimate her," the woman beside Kodachi whispered urgently. "The last time we fought she had killed my companion. Her sister had died because she had gotten in the way of a suicide hit that Shori had executed. Her moves may not be as refined as any samurai but she **can** fight."

A gleam of interest passed through Kodachi's eye. "So she killed her own sister?" Kodachi laughed. "What guilt must have wreaked upon your soul, Ifuku."

"Don't call me that, Kodachi." Ifuku drew the two identical swords that she had been hiding. It was another reason why she wanted to stay off the main roads. "I demand respect from those who will try to kill me."

"You make me laugh, Ifuku." Kodachi fingered her newly shortened hair, as she sneered at her opponent. "You were the one who chose to be a peasant. I'm just obliging your wishes. Can we fight now? Formalities bore me."

"Two to one is hardly a fair fight, Kodachi," Ifuku informed her as she crossed her swords above her head in a stance that was new to Kodachi. "Then again, you hardly **ever** play fair."

Ifuku started to charge Kodachi and her companion when Omokage suddenly appeared beside her, matching her own pace. "You forgot me."

"What took you so long?" Ifuku demanded at his sudden voice all the while thrusting her swords towards Kodachi's neck, finding out quickly that Kodachi's neck wasn't where it was supposed to be. She jumped back as Kodachi landed. "I would appreciate it if you would give me a signal or something so that I know you're on **my** side here," Ifuku told Omokage in controlled tones, keeping her eyes on Kodachi.

"And **I** would appreciate it if **you** told me things in advance." Omokage had his sword out parrying the daggers Ari was throwing at his way. Ari was dealing with him through long range combat, keeping the distance while circling him.

"What was **I** supposed to tell you?" Ifuku shouted as she whirled her two swords around to fend Kodachi's projectiles. "It's not like I **knew** they were coming after me."

Ari snorted as she flipped three consecutive daggers in the air. "It seems like you'd rather kill each other than fight us."

Omokage drew his sword closer to his body evading the projectiles neatly trying to bring his opponent closer. "Just clearing out misunderstandings." When he was closer he took a swipe at her wrist giving her a grin. "Don't worry I'm all yours now."

* * *

Cologne entered Rose Brier with a frown on her face. Nabiki noticed the matriarch's worry immediately as she told her two charges that they were dismissed for the day. She smiled for their benefit and summoned for Sasuke to give them their baths.

As soon as they were gone, Cologne turned to Nabiki. Tapping her chin in thought she asked, "Where is Ranma?" Nabiki winced at the directness of the summons. Cologne usually had time to be playful but today she did not want to waste time on pleasantries. "I have something important to talk about."

Nabiki nodded as she turned to go, only to see Ranma coming out of the hallway with his trademark stance. He noticed the matriarch immediately and Nabiki's pointed glance before he managed to ask, "Yes?"

Cologne motioned for the two of them to come as she walked towards the dojo. Nabiki frowned, Cologne never isolated them on the dojo unless she was really serious or she wanted to train them. Nabiki was more inclined to believe the former rather than the latter.

When they were inside the four walls, Cologne secured the entire area, wanting to know if there were any other samurai training at the time before she settled down to look at the two of them. "_Do you have in your employ a peasant named Murasaki?_" She preferred to address them in Chinese since the matter was delicate.

The twins looked at each other for confirmation then both shook their heads. They turned towards Cologne, wondering what she was up to. The frown had not left her face as she continued, "_I could describe her... but I doubt you'd recognize her._"

"_Why do you ask, matriarch?_" Nabiki asked in the language that Cologne addressed her in, curiosity not leaving her voice. Cologne must think highly of the girl to bring **both** of their attention to it. If there was trouble, Cologne rarely asked for help unless she couldn't take care of it herself, or propriety demanded that she speak of it first. "_Has one of our servants been rude to you?_"

Cologne took out a small object from her robes flicking it towards the twins. It was Ranma who caught it. He unwrapped the cloth and stared at the object inside for a moment, before Cologne broke his thoughts with her words, "_Recognize it, student?_"

Ranma looked up throwing the object to Nabiki. "_How could I not? It's Kodachi's marital comb._" Nabiki nodded in a moment as she examined the hair ornament. She had one in her dresser to wear for formal occasions. Her own marital comb was left in the Ikaasei house, and the ones she had in this house were for beauty's sake.

Nabiki fingered the comb for a moment then looked at Cologne, wondering how to phrase her next words without seeming impolite. In the end, she settled for a direct path, "_Why do you have this?_"

"_Ifuku or Akane did not tell you what happened when you two were out checking the fires._" She looked at the two of them and waited for the confirmation before she continued, "_Some days after you left Akane found her mirror broken by a single black rose, it was followed by Kodachi's laugh and I had immediately gone to the room to check._"

Both of them gave her confused looks. It was Nabiki who spoke up,

"_You speak as if she is two different people._"

"_Don't interrupt me._" When she had seen that they would let her continue without questions she continued, "_There was nothing wrong, but when I went to Ifuku's room, a peasant girl claiming to be 'Murasaki' was pressed against the shoji listening to us_."

"_Murasaki?_" Nabiki snorted at the name. "_Couldn't she have been more obvious?_"

"_Yes..._" Cologne nodded her fingers thoughtfully rubbing her cane. "_It showed that she had some minor education, enough to make me suspicious. But what made me wonder was that comb was on her hair._"

Nabiki handed Ranma the comb back for further examination. It would fetch a good price in the market if sold, but there were more expensive things in the house that the girl could have taken. "_Why would she steal this?_"

The comb's only use was to prove that she was the wife of Ranma Saotome. No one but a fool to try it since Kodachi's reputation was well known. The comb would be of no use. Cologne looked at them. "_That's what I would like to know. I don't know if she stole anything of importance, but when I called for a routine check, no one seemed to miss anything. I sent Shampoo to follow her._"

The two waited expectantly to hear what Shampoo learned from her expedition, but Cologne shook her head. "_I haven't heard from Shampoo since then and I'm worried. She was supposed to contact me daily._"

Nabiki nodded, already thinking of possibilities. "_We'll look into it, matriarch._"

"_But how did she know where the comb was hidden?_" Ranma asked quietly as he stared at the trinket. "_Kodachi has not worn it since I gave it to her. I always tried to find it and place it on her hair before so she took the trouble to hide it from me. I never found it after that. It's been several years since I've seen this._"

"_The girl knew where to find the comb,_" Cologne mused. The only thing that gave 'Murasaki' away had been the broken shards of glass. There seemed nothing out of place except for the comb on her hair, and the girl carried nothing on her way out.

"_That worries me,_" Nabiki whispered as she too stared on the comb in Ranma's hands.

"_I was hoping you had more answers than questions._" Cologne sighed as she looked at the twins. It had been more than a month since she had heard from Shampoo, and she cursed herself for not acting sooner. For getting distracted with her great-granddaughter, Hanae, for getting distracted with Sei.

In the month past, the girl she only knew as 'Murasaki' could be anywhere. The trail has run cold. But she could try, she was not an Amazon Elder for nothing... and she was an excellent tracker.

Kodachi's comb.

Her direction.

Her skill.

It was not much to go on. But if she wants to make another attempt at the comb... she had to hide close to the city. Kamakura offered quite a few sanctuaries for people like her.

One was the temples, and that would give her the almost impossible task of weeding through all sixty-five of them. Or the peasant houses, another almost impossible task.

Cologne gave a sigh, too much to do with so little time.

She had depended on Shampoo to be safe, because she was an Amazon. She had thought her heir would be all right, away from the Saotomes that were making her nervous. Doing something that came naturally to her.

Shampoo was only human.

'If I were to hide a kidnapped Amazon, where would I place her?'

There were far too many answers.

Nabiki left the dojo with the two others deep in thought when she spotted Sara going down with a tray of food. She raised her eyebrows. "Kodachi has taken to eating upstairs, Sara?"

The maid was startled at the sudden inquiry but looked at her and

nodded. Ranma frowned and asked, "When did she return?"

The maid looked even more startled. "She never left, my lord."

Nabiki looked at Ranma then at the maid. "What do you mean, 'She's never left.' I haven't seen her in weeks." They all assumed that she went to Nerima. It was the usual arrangement for Kodachi and both Ranma and Nabiki had been happy she was gone.

Kodachi complicated matters. It was best if she stayed far away from Rose Brier as possible. The maid looked fearful and steadied her visibly shaking hands before replying, "She is in her room, my lady. She didn't want to get out of bed."

Nabiki dismissed the girl as she jumped up the tree that slanted near their house until she reached Kodachi's window. She nimbly entered while taking her shoes off, Ranma and Cologne close behind her.

The room was closed off letting darkness envelope it, even in the middle of the afternoon and the room's air had started to turn stale. Nabiki solved the problem by opening the windows to let fresh air and sunlight filter in.. Cologne opened the doors, even the ones leading to Ifuku's room. "Ugh, I can't believe you stayed here for more than three weeks."

Ranma immediately knelt beside Akane while his companions tended to the room. "Hey," he whispered trying to soothe her awake while shaking her. It took them a while before she opened her eyes. "It's the middle of the afternoon. Aren't you going to get up?"

"Oh..." Akane grumbled opening her eyes for a moment then turned her head away from the sunlight. "I think I'm going to pass this one up."

Ranma started to rouse her again when Cologne tapped his shoulder. "I'll do this, son-in-law. I'd tell you to draw a bath, but I don't think the furo would be appropriate."

Cologne knelt beside Akane and pressed some pressure points then she turned towards Nabiki. "Daughter, you carry her towards the bay."

Ranma stared at the matriarch, not really understanding her intent. "The bay?"

"She needs to wake up and I'm not about to make people draw water when there's a large body out there that I can exploit." She gave Ranma a toothy grin as they went outside though the window.

In seconds, Akane was in the salty water with a female Ranma and a male Nabiki looking at her. "She'll live," Cologne pronounced as she looked at Akane who was spluttering at the salt water.

"Why did you go lock yourself up in your room anyway?" Ranma-chan muttered, not intending for Akane to hear.

However, she did hear the words and she grasped on him for support until she could stand up. She coughed a fistful of water before hitting him with a mallet. "I wanted to go home, you jerk. I hate you. I hate this stupid place. I can't believe you don't want me to find my baby."

Cologne watched as the girl weakly but proudly left the three of them to go back to Rose Brier. She turned to her two wet students. "She deems watching, you two. She's depressed enough to want death."

"Kodachi wanting to die?" He shook his head uncomprehending. Kodachi's whole life revolved around other people wanting to die. She wants everything else to die it was the entire reason she wanted to live.

Nabiki followed Akane's departure with her eyes. "No, there's something about her..."

"Your wife said something that merits a second look, Ranma." Cologne watched Akane as a wave toppled her over. Turning towards her students, Cologne addressed Nabiki next, "You assist that girl, and make sure she lives. She may have some answers that you're looking for."

While Nabiki-kun had sprinted to get Akane out of the sea, Cologne held Ranma-chan back. She gave the older woman a questioning look but she pogoed leisurely towards the house using her cane as stilts to elevate her from the salt waters. "Ranma, opportunities like these only come but once. If life continues for her like this, she may very well die."

The proposition seemed unbelievable to Ranma but Cologne never joked about life and death. She ran his hand through her red hair and muttered, "That woman is going to be the death of **me** someday." Ranma-chan flicked her wet pigtail as they began their ascent towards the house.

Nabiki-kun had taken the shorter way by the trees and was already instructing some of the servants to bathe Akane and change her clothes.

"With the way things are going, she's going to die first," Cologne mused as she tapped her staff on the sand, spraying the water that had clung to it. "You have a strange blessing son-in-law. You make people fall in love with you. Yet it's a curse in its own right, because in the process, you break their hearts." Ranma-chan looked uncomfortable under the scrutinizing gaze so Cologne gave her a toothy grin to break the uneasiness. "You put too much thought in my words. Take care of her. I don't think you'd want her to die."

There was a pause before Ranma-chan tried to answer, and Cologne watched as her expression changed from uncomfortable, to confused, to irritated and then uncomfortable again. Cologne stopped her flustering by saying, "I see you're still indecisive. It is good that you have not brought that bad habit to your fighting."

Suddenly, Ranma-chan stopped walking up the hill and stared at Cologne. "You're the one who's been indecisive. I thought you couldn't tolerate Kodachi." She was too annoyed and too aggravated to understand what Cologne was willing to impart.

Amused at her behavior, and knowing that it was the famous Saotome's foot in the mouth talking, she continued walking. "Son-in-law... you're not very sharp are you? Not when it concerns women. Your gift is wasted on you." She shook her head. "Do you believe in fate, son-in-law?"

He paused wondering what to answer. "Fate or destiny?"

"Is one so different from the other?" Cologne asked as she swatted away some of the taller grasses then opened the door that led to the kitchen. With her cane, she fished out the kettle and poured its contents on Ranma. He growled at the temperature being hotter than necessary, but she ignored his grumbling as she asked, "Well, do you?"

Ranma wrung his pigtail dry then took off his shirt flicking it in the air to wring out the excess droplets of water. "If there is one then she plays a sick game."

"It seems you believe it to some extent." Cologne took the kettle again and replaced it in the brazier. "Sometimes fate makes a mistake. Even such a being can't always be perfect."

Ranma pulled his shirt over his head again. "What? Like she made a mistake in dropping us at Jusenkyo?"

Ranma still resented the curse a bit. Cologne had hoped he would overgrow it. "Jusenkyo was not a mistake, child." Cologne sat down in one of the zabuton that lay on the head of the table then turned towards the door just as Nabiki-kun entered the room.

Nabiki immediately headed for the kettle only to find out it was empty. "Don't mind me here." He turned to glare at Ranma as he filled up the kettle with more water, while he said in an accusing tone. "**Someone** used up all the hot water."

"Don't blame it on me. **She** poured the water." Ranma thumbed Cologne and sat down unceremoniously. "I still can't believe you're saying Jusenkyo wasn't a mistake."

"If it was," Cologne said slowly gauging their reactions, smoothly sitting down at a comfortable spot. "It would have been rectified. Dame Fortune does not like knots in her threads."

"It's not a perfect fabric anyway," Nabiki-kun reasoned out as he took his place opposite of Ranma. "So why bother?"

"Why bother?" Cologne gave another grin as she lay down her staff on the table, the twins sensed she was going into her story-telling mode again and gave identical sighs. "What would have happened to the two of you when you were caught by the Wako if you did not have your curse? They would still be hunting for your blood. What about the fight against Clans? You would not have your girl side as a spy and your similar appearances as an alibi. You would have been executed."

"Perfection doesn't always seem perfect to you, children. We Amazons believe in many things. It is a must to survive. One of them is fate. We are a superstitious people."

"How does 'Dame Fortune' fix her mistakes?" Nabiki asked curious, she was cutting the story short, but she wasn't about to listen to a lengthy story with only one point in it: to leave them thinking about when Cologne would ever give them straight answers. "That **must** be the point of your questions."

"Astute as always, daughter, yet impatient," Cologne delivered the reprimand and compliment in an even tone. "Very well, she creates a way for two worlds to convene, so that her wrong would be fixed by another mortal. A meeting of destinies."

Even when Nabiki cuts the chase, Cologne manages to talk in circles. "This is what Amazon legend tells you?" Ranma asked skeptically.

"It is what we **believe** in." Cologne nodded at the shoji. "Your wife is a stubborn one isn't she? She's supposed to be resting."

Ranma sighed as he called Akane in and Nabiki-kun gave a knowing glance. "How long has she been there?"

"Not long enough, Nabiki," Akane muttered as she took hold of the table to steady herself. She did not hear anything of importance.

Cologne took in the sight of the woman, she was thin, and deathly pale but there was a glint of determination in her eyes. "As I said, it looks like this one will live." She procured two pouches of medicine from her robes and gave them to Ranma, who opened them to look at the small spherical black pills that filled it. "Make sure she takes three pills at least once a day. Dilute it in water or food."

Ranma nodded then turned to assist Akane to sit. Akane gave him a weak glare. "Even in my suffering you don't leave me alone."

Cologne's eyes never left the two of them. "_How long has she known of Jusenkyo?_" the question was addressed to Nabiki, since Ranma was pre-occupied with his wife.

Nabiki-kun shrugged, not really understanding where the questioning was leading to this time. He answered in Chinese, since it seemed like Cologne didn't want Akane to know what they were talking about, "_A month? But she's barely seen it. We're more careful now... we've changed only a couple of times._"

This said, Cologne brooded over what she was going to do next for a minute before turning to Ranma. "I must go, I fear for Shampoo and I only stopped by to tell you."

Ranma nodded as he helped seat his wife on one of the pillows around the table. "Goodbye, matriarch... and thank you for the help."

Cologne nodded and Nabiki-kun rose to accompany her. Before she left she gripped Nabiki-kun's hand and told both of them in a loud voice. "_There is another saying child one that I believe you should remember: Take note of he who recognizes you amidst your twin._"

Nabiki-kun nodded at the words then bowed. When he raised her head, the matriarch was gone. The only sign of her departure was the open shoji. When he went back to the kitchen he immediately went over the kettle to see to his water.

Akane gave a weak cough then clutched on to anything she could hold for stability, and that happened to be Ranma's shirt. "What did she want to talk about?"

"Foreordination," Nabiki-kun quipped testing the water against his finger, "and her great-granddaughter. She's as mysterious as always."

When Nabiki-kun deemed the water ready, he poured it on his head with a little smirk then turned to Ranma, who looked like he was seeing nothing of what he was staring at. Nabiki cleared her throat. "Well?"

Ranma stared at Akane for another second before turning to Nabiki. "I still don't understand **why** she told this to us in the first place." Ranma shifted Akane on his arms, then deciding that something needed to be done about Akane's mood announced, "We're going out, and I'm dragging you to a walk around town."

Akane gave him a grimace, not liking the sudden change of subject. "You were talking about me, weren't you?" Akane pushed him away as she tried to stand up on her own but she failed and found herself being held by the waist again. "I hate you."

"I'm sure I share the sentiment," Ranma drawled as he half-carried half-dragged her towards the streets of Rose Brier. "But now, we are taking time for you to know the people of the dear lovely town of Kamakura."

Nabiki gave Akane a sympathetic smile. "You're not getting away if he gets one of his moods. He's a strong one." Nabiki gave both of them a small wave. "Have fun you two, don't be out so late."

"I thought you wanted me to rest?" But that comment seemed to fall on deaf ears. Akane gave a small shriek as Ranma sped up his pace from a slow walk to almost a trot. "Arghh... Have you no sympathy? Nabiki! Ranma! I want to go home!"

Nabiki shook her head as she started to stand up, when she heard Ranma's yell. "You've been cooped up in that house long enough."

Nabiki shook her head again. She hadn't heard Ranma shout like that since... since the Fiancée wars. Seems like Kodachi was making Ranma feel like a child again.

Nabiki hummed as she continued to do her work.

"You dragged me all the way to the middle of the streets... to **buy fish**?" Akane asked, enraged. A few of the peasants in the market were already staring. It was late in the afternoon, so most of the good buys were already gone, but Ranma seemed at home with a small basket on his left hand and Akane on his right.

Ranma nodded. "Now what would you like for dinner?" then Ranma began ticking off names of fish as they walked by the fishermen's stall. Akane got the sudden urge to curl up and die again.

"I want this one..." Ranma pointed at the fishmonger and began haggling for the price. If Akane didn't know he had the money to spend, she would have thought that he was dirt poor. It was the first time she'd seen a man haggle over the price of a **fish**. And Ryoga usually left the shopping to her.

Watching them made Akane smile a bit, and then she remembered that having a stroll in the market isn't exactly one of her favorite pastimes. She was about to tug Ranma's arm in impatience when the lady smiled at her. "Ahh, it's a pleasure you've come to visit, my lady."

Akane didn't know how to react to the people, being who she was supposed to be and who she really was. Adding the fact that she hadn't been paying attention towards the conversation, she could only give a half smile in response. "It's a pleasure meeting you too."

The lady nodded as she began to salt the fish and wrap it in a thin piece of paper. She smiled gaily as she did her task. "You haven't been around lately, my lord. Lady Nabiki seems to be troubled as well. She had given two more coins than she should have." She handed the fish to Ranma with an expectant stare.

"Then you're lucky, you know how she is with money." Ranma smiled as he accepted his purchase then placed it in the basket. "She's a thrifty one, my sister."

"And you're not, Lord Ranma?" the woman asked in a jesting manner that told Akane that the banter had gone on before. She shook her head as she wiped her fingers with the damp cloth she had near the table. "You're just as bad as she is. The both of you are almost misers. Your servants give us higher income than you do."

"Aha!" Ranma exclaimed as he took some coins from a strung up holder, and even though he had put that much of a fight for the price, he hadn't even counted the coins he handed over. "I'm just here to cut down the cost that **fish** has been adding."

Akane didn't know what Ranma did when he left the house so late at night, but this probably was one of them. The people liked him, and he was proud of them. She remembered about the talk she had with Ranko about their childhood concluding that his haggling must have been a side-effect of his past. Then she shook her head as she remembered that Ranma and Ranko was the same person.

The girl smirked as she handed back three coins to Ranma. "You're getting worse than your sister, my lord." It was also widely known that samurai were not allowed to know the value of coins. Pride was dominant among samurai and they hated to be associated with the merchant, they considered it improper. However, it had been a useful to know the worth of money in the road and so Genma had taught them. As Akane has already found out, the Saotomes were different.

He looked offended, waving his basket in the air while miraculously keeping its contents inside. "What? Are you saying that I can't count? Shame." He took Akane's hand and bowed. "I'll see you sometime."

The woman nodded as she kept the extra coins and Akane managed to tug his sleeve when they left. He stopped to look at her with a questioning look. Akane gave him a sigh. "You gave her that money on purpose didn't you?"

He stopped to think about what to say and shrugged as he led her to another part of the market. "Not really, I'm not really supposed to count all of those coins or the other samurai would be appalled. Nabiki's bartering skills cut on their income but Nabiki enjoys it so most of the servants compensate. It's her little game. I sometimes do it."

They walked along the streets, buying vegetables of all things, and most of the servants went about their tasks. Akane concluded that Ranma and Nabiki regularly haggled on the streets for the people to feel at ease that their daimyo was doing something as common as shopping.

Akane hated to admit it, but she liked walking around the streets of Kamakura with Ranma. He took her around the city introducing her to people that Akane thought he would never get the chance to know.

He proved his knowledge of the city went beyond its defenses, beyond its economics, he knew how the people lived. He asked how they were doing, if one flower girl's mother was feeling better, or if one vendor's husband was back from the trip to this and that. Trivial things.

In return, he was given an extra bag of salt, a warm smile, and questions about both his mother and Nabiki. It was obvious that the people were fiercely loyal to their liege and they loved him dearly.

The main street, Wakamiya Oji, was a charming place, bustling with activity, even in the afternoon. The street had many quaint shops with right along with the small restaurants and food vendors, and Ranma expertly guided her around, pointing out things he expected her to like.

They even stopped at one of the shops she was particularly fascinated with, and Ranma let her look at the items sold in it. He never left her side, and at her fascination at the little trinkets, Ranma gave her a small explanation, "This is the specialty of our city. Kamakura-bori. It's an art that requires chiseling the wood and painting it. They put lacquer to finish." Most of the designs were red painted on black... they adored the figures of dragons the most.

Akane gushed over the small items. She took to a pin in the design of the lotus blossom the most. All Kodachi's things were bought from outside the city, as Ifuku told her, and it was the first time Akane had seen Kamakura's craftsmanship. She bought nothing, and although Ranma offered to buy the pin, she had declined.

"You're an uncommon lot, you and your sister," Akane observed as she clutched his arm for support, already feeling weak from walking around the city. "Not at all like what the history books tell me."

"History? There is no history in the muddy fields of Sagami or the little spats of liege lords." Ranma smiled as he turned in another bend to look over another shop. "There's no history when we try to hide behind it. Books are dangerous things."

"So they say..." Akane trailed a little, after all history did not seem like history when you lived it, then she stopped walking. Ranma almost stepped on her feet at the abruptness of her halt. "Look, it's obvious that you're trying hard to please me. It's not working, and I know you hate me... and the feeling's mutual. So why don't we go on our own way? Tell me how to get to Nerima."

He shook his head as walked towards the nearest stall, bringing her along with him. This time, it was filled with items for a young lady, fans, some pottery, all of them beautifully and painstakingly made. Ranma didn't turn to look at her, but his answer was clear, his resolve, complete. "No. Nerima is too far and the road too dangerous for a woman to go marching out there alone."

"Are you insinuating that I can't handle myself?" Akane accused as she stared at his face, while he was trying to avoid looking at her. "I'm a martial artist too, you know."

"One who's pretty sick at the moment because she hasn't been eating properly," Ranma shot back as he bent over to look at the things that were sold in the shop.

Seeing that he wasn't going to tell her what she wanted, Akane turned to the vendor and smiled. The vendor immediately gave her a bow, she tried to recall if the other merchants they had talked to had given Ranma a similar bow, but could not remember. "Do you know the way to Nerima?"

The girl smiled warmly. "Sure, my father and I usually go there every winter, to bring some of the goods." Ranma gave her one warning look and her attitude changed drastically. "But... I can't quite remember it without my father leading. It was snowing then, no landmarks at all."

Akane pinched Ranma's arm, which was still linked to hers. She smiled at his wince and told him in an accusing voice. "You did that on purpose!"

"What?!" He gave her an innocent look then turned back to the vendor. "Do you know what Lady Akane is talking about?"

The girl blushed prettily then shook her head as Ranma paid for his selection. Akane did not know what he bought although she noted he didn't even haggle this time. He hadn't even asked the price. She glared at him. "You play dirty."

He put the small package in the pocket of his Chinese pants, shook his head then headed for the path towards the house. He took a look at his basket and said, "I think we're done shopping for dinner, and here I hoped you'd get to know the colorful people in my city."

When they arrived home, Akane's first task had been to walk up to one of the samurai guarding the gates, put her hands on her hips and demanded her wishes in the most intimidating voice she knew of, "Tell me where Nerima is."

A moment later Ranma was by her side, pulling her towards the house. "Lady Kodachi is a bit confused. She wants to go to Nerima! At this time of the year! Don't you think it's a silly idea?"

The samurai gave Ranma a disoriented look then turned to Akane to address her questions, "Well, my lady, Nerima has a good atmosphere it has a lively town and--"

Ranma cut off what seemed like a long list of good things about his hometown. Deciding that the samurai needed a little bit of urging for things to go his way he said, "But not for a sick young thing like your Lady, don't you think? You just might get her lost."

"But I'm sure the weather would work won--" Another samurai elbowed him and as he coughed at the rather hard hit, the interfering samurai continued, "My lady, sorry for my friend's rambling here. He's seen Nerima once and he thinks it's Utopia."

When the other samurai started to speak again, the one who had interrupted stepped on his foot forcefully. "I'm sure that he's too dazed to remember the location of Nerima in his state."

Akane stared at the somewhat comical display in front of her. "I'm sure..." She turned to glare at Ranma again, who by this time was pulling her towards the house. "You're turning everyone against me."

Another innocent look and a few steps later, they could hear the samurai arguing in the background, "Are you dense or what? Lord Ranma obviously didn't want Lady Kodachi to know of Nerima."

"Well he should have been more obvious!" the samurai answered belligerently. Akane gave Ranma a meaningful look when they heard that, which Ranma promptly ignored.

"What could be more obvious than him jumping up and down behind Lady Kodachi waving his hands no?" the other samurai asked in disgust. "I know you're dim-witted, but this is way below that. Are you sure you passed that training trip?"

A vein popped at the side of Ranma's head and Akane noted it with mild interest. "You proclaim to the world you hate me, yet you don't want to let me go. You contradict yourself."

"Maybe you think too much," Ranma suggested. Sasuke was at the front door before he could land a foot in it. Just as always, he was the reliable doormat. Ranma nodded to him as he handed the purchases, and sensing that Akane was going to go into another round of questioning glared at him. "You **don't** know where Nerima is."

"Uh... Lord Ranma?" the ninja asked uncertainly then turned to Akane. Ranma wished he could bang his head a couple of more times on the wall. Sasuke was the most liable person in the whole house to tell what he had been trying to hide. He was loyal to Kodachi first before the Saotomes.

"Ranma is keeping me from going to Nerima." Akane managed a good mannered pout, a few well-placed blinks in the eye and a sniffle. Ranma groaned at the act. "I **really** want to go... and this big bully isn't letting me. But you'll accompany me, right?"

Before any affirmation came out of the ninja's lips Ranma took him by the collar and dragged him towards the kitchen. "Nope, he's not going with you either."

Akane threw up her hands in defeat and then shouted, "Fine!" She dragged herself up the stairs, but stopped as Nabiki blocked her way. "I don't suppose **you** know where Nerima is?"

Nabiki gave her an amused glance, tapped her chin, tilted her head sideways then gave her a smile. "Well, my dear, to go to Nerima you swim this bay towards Enoshima." Nabiki pointed graphically at one of the larger windows. "Then you take a boat with one of the fishermen to Nerima. Just tell them who you are and you'll get it for free."

Giving her a sideways look, Akane eyed the path Nabiki pointed. "You sure?"

"Of course I am!" Nabiki answered knowingly patting Akane on the shoulder, making her look like a young child. Akane wondered how much of the act was exaggerated. "Now go to your room, and freshen up a bit before dinner." As an afterthought, Nabiki added, "Do you know where my ungrateful brother is?"

"Back at the kitchen strangling Sasuke to death," Akane answered bitterly turning to do as Nabiki had suggested.

Nabiki raised an eyebrow then shrugged. Her brother was not stupid to kill someone inside the house, would not kill someone on their paycheck that wasn't a spy and would certainly leave no witnesses if the first two were broken. She skipped merrily into the kitchen then raised her eyebrow at Ranma tying Sasuke to the beams of the house. "Should I go tell Kodachi that you **are** strangling Sasuke?"

He didn't comment as he tied another rope around Sasuke's already bonded hands and sat down, exhausted, on the zabuton. "Don't start."

"What?" Nabiki couldn't help but be amused at her brother's bedraggled state. The way Sasuke was struggling did not help either. She tilted her head as she tried to find the right words, "I assume you're keeping Kodachi from Nerima?"

He gave her a pondering glance then nodded. "How did you --"

"Know? She just asked me." Nabiki flipped her hair then turned to Sasuke to order, "Sasuke, don't let your mistress go to Nerima."

Nabiki turned her head and clapped three times, a couple of maids arrived. "We don't really want Kodachi to go to Nerima, so I'm depending on all of you to keep her here. I want all seki in the vicinity to know of it, especially all of the boatmen. Plus, keep a watch on dear old Sasuke for me. He might be up to something."

After that was said, she waved her hands and the handful that appeared scurried to do what she had told. "It's more efficient than gift wrapping our little ninja... who's about to escape as soon as he gets his knife to get at that... tight spot between his arms." Nabiki flashed Sasuke a smile just as he dropped the knife that he had been holding.

"I'll set him free," Ranma groused, standing up again.

"Let him do it, he requires a little exercise." Nabiki smiled as she stretched the muscles of her arms. "So Kodachi wants to go to Nerima... Hmmm... This will provide me with **some** entertainment."

* * *

Ifuku tore one of the linen from her sleeves as she arranged a small tourniquet around her bleeding arms. She was feeling lightheaded and knew that one of Kodachi's potions managed to get into her bloodstream.

"Did you manage to kill Kodachi?" Ifuku asked when she sensed Omokage coming up from behind her.

"No." He managed to catch her against his arms as she swayed again. Deciding that the trees would be a batter place to be than the field below, he swung up one of the branches while lifting her up. "You're making a path you know."

"I wouldn't be making a path if I didn't have you to worry about," Ifuku retorted as she tore another one of her sleeves to stop bleeding from another part of her body. One thing was for certain, she needed practice in fighting.

"You didn't need to wait for me," Omokage told her carrying her to accommodate his tree-hopping then changing the angle of their movement ninety degrees away from the path Ifuku had been traveling. It would buy them some time, but not much. "I'm safe in Saotome territory."

"That's what you think," Ifuku muttered as she wiped her brow. She was already sweating coldly and she didn't know which wound the poison had seeped through. "Besides, I needed you."

Omokage stopped at a large tree and jumped up a few more branches before he rested her down a thick branch to take a look at her, leaning her against the main trunk for support. He straddled the branch then unsheathed his sword and began to cut through the peasant's garb she was wearing. "You're sure that's Lady Kodachi?"

"There's no mistaking that laugh, Omokage," Ifuku grumbled not protesting as he stripped away more of her clothing. His probing hands moved through all of the gashes she had sustained in the fight while trying to find the entry point of Kodachi's potion. "There's no mistaking the fighting style."

That was something he could understand. Kodachi's fighting style was extremely unique in composition. He also knew that he couldn't question the impossibility of the situation. Nothing in the Saotome household was normal. Everything had to be taken as they were presented. "You're not Ifuku."

"Did you kill the other woman?" Ifuku rasped out, ignoring the accusation in his voice. Her question was answered with a curt yes and Ifuku smiled a little. Kodachi would not know her target without a guide. "Why are there no other samurai this part of the land?" Ifuku said, wincing as he pressed a tender spot. He still hadn't found the poison's entrance. "You're supposed to be guarding these parts."

"This is in between Rose Brier and the border. Most of the men are on the border itself. We're supposed to be keeping people out. Not keeping the people in. We monitor some of the areas in between for suspicious movement like yours." He motioned towards the lands. "Usually no one guards this because the security at the border is enough."

"Some security." Ifuku winced as one of his fingers stabbed a bruise. She glared at what had been a deliberate jab. "I don't think that Tendo samurai came from within Saotome grounds."

The border security was a tender spot amongst the samurai guarding it. Especially since they still haven't solved the problems there and have recently been handed a burning Yokohama and Nerima central. "You were just lucky I was there."

"You **weren't** supposed to be **there**," Ifuku said forcefully, shoving his hands off of her. "You were following me."

He didn't give any indication otherwise. He took his sword again and opened a small wound in her chest. "I have to suck the poison out Ifuku."

Ifuku just glared at him. "You're enjoying this aren't you?"

"Would you rather I leave it?" he asked as he tore the endings of his shirt to make a large enough bandage for her chest. "I could always walk up and go. Tell the Saotomes why exactly you were so eager to have your husband tell them about the Tendos. You were hiding behind us all along."

"I was forced to hide. I don't think you're going to get any of the poison out anyway... this long, it could have gotten to my heart." Ifuku closed her eyes. It wasn't her preferred way to die. She had dreamed she was going to retake her land. She was never going to do that now.

"Drink this." Omokage gave her a flask and she poured it down her throat. Her face contorted to a mask of pain and she began to vomit. "How's that supposed to help when you're vomiting it all over the tree?"

"It doesn't help that it's repulsive," Ifuku spat out while taking a sniff of it then made a face. "Why do you carry this anyway? You expect to be poisoned?"

"Lady Nabiki always gives us antidote when Kodachi is around. It should keep you alive until we get you to the Saotomes," Omokage explained as he watched her force down another gulp without vomiting. "Lady Nabiki knows how to cure most of Kodachi's potions."

"No!" Ifuku disagreed immediately, thrusting the flask back to him. She tensed up as she tried to sit down. "I'm not going until I warn Sohin about that woman."

He pushed her down the branch again, and since Ifuku wasn't well enough to fight him his will won over. Her sitting position against the branches didn't prevent her from glaring at him though. Taking the flask from her hands he secured it against his belt then looked at her again. "You're Shori Tendo. I can't believe the three banes of Sanuki have been hiding in our lands."

"You've heard of that story?" Ifuku asked mildly amused. She had not been called that since she was five. There were stories that said they were vengeful at being sent away on a training trip. That they had run away because of it and to live they marked the soil unusable, that they had stolen the people's koku. That they had ordered these cruelties upon the people. It had ruined their names badly.

"It's a silly tale designed to water you out of your hiding place, no doubt." Omokage began administering to her wounds by trying to wipe the dried blood away and binding the large abrasions. "It was a failure."

"We were children, it almost worked. We never wanted to hurt those that we ruled, and they thought that **we** were the cause of their suffering. It was bad. The people were bled off their money, and the samurai took all in our name. It's no wonder they stick to Chisei." She shivered lightly. To people, it doesn't matter what hand fed them, as long as someone does. No matter how hard that hand was on them, as long as it stayed there. "They look up to her as their savior."

"We were very young. We barely lived crossing the islands." Ifuku sighed then tried to sit down again, remembering Sohin. "Please... don't take me to the Saotomes. Not until I speak to Sohin. He'll be an easy target. She's the exact replica of Akane Tendo."

"Why would Sohin be deceived? He had --"

"He and I were Akane's guardians," she explained hastily. Omokage did not get a chance to ask further questions since Ifuku vomited towards the grass below and promptly passed out.

* * *

Usually, coming back from the border tired him out so he headed straight to his rooms and let the samurai with him rest. However, when he arrived home today he was informed of Akane's latest stunt and was forced to go check on her.

Ranma stared at the shoreline and cursed as he found Akane rowing in what he could discern was a makeshift raft in the middle of Sagami bay. He was mildly thankful that Sagami didn't have strong waves when it wasn't raining because of Enoshima. Enoshima trapped the waves back and forth from the main island to itself creating almost still waters.

"Your wife sure can row fast," Nabiki commented after she whistled appreciatively at Akane with paddles on a kayak with measured strokes across the water. "Good thing the tide is lower during sunset or she'd probably have deep waters in store for her."

Nabiki and Ranma were not raised near the ocean, but it wasn't difficult to find time to be familiar with it being in an island where any body of water was always just a training trip away.

"I'll retrieve her," he said as he started pulling off his slippers and tossed them towards Nabiki removing his red shirt leaving the white sleeveless undershirt instead. "Get some warm water ready and tell the samurai to move back towards the house."

He had barked the orders because of Jusenkyo, and the samurai would retreat further into the woods for privacy but would not leave them alone. Not since both their daimyo and his wife could need their help. Important people were never left alone.

He didn't check to see if Nabiki had followed orders as he waded into the water and then dived in. He soon realized that the last remaining warmth had left with the sun, and it would soon be dark. He had to bring Akane back soon.

Ranma-chan resurfaced a few meters away from the shore and took several long strokes before she reached Akane. She pulled herself up and out of the water in one fluid motion and landed on top of the raft managing to rock it slightly and bring Akane's attention to her.

Akane sent her a disgruntled look then frowned. "Don't rock the boat."

"Hello to you too," Ranma-chan muttered as she squeezed water out of her pigtail. "Sun's down. It's going to be pitch black here in a while. Couldn't you have waited until tomorrow to do this?"

"I tried to make this thing for three days. I wasn't going to wait for tomorrow to get to Nerima," Akane answered as she put the makeshift paddle down. It has been four days since Nabiki gave Akane the false story about needing a raft to go to Nerima. Akane didn't waste much time when thinking of ways to get what she wanted.

Ranma looked at the bamboo and driftwood she had tied around each other conceded to the fact that even if it didn't look like it would sell in any of the stalls it really did float. She looked back at the shore where Nabiki had already set his orders in motion by sending samurai back towards the forest and had laid his slippers and shirt down well above the shoreline.

"During evenings, the waves move out towards sea rather than towards land," Ranma-chan explained as he looked at the deep cyan water. From experience, he knew the water reached over his head upright, even in male form, but there were no sudden drops since they were between islands, and the sand just leveled off. "It's going to be difficult to swim against the tide."

"Good for us then," Akane muttered as she assessed Ranma's appearance, and decided that she wouldn't try to bring her back against her will. "You wouldn't drag me towards shore."

"You idiot," Ranma insulted her as she gauged the length they'd have to swim to go back. It was already quite the distance. The shore was getting farther as the waves carried them away. "We're going to be stuck in the middle of Enoshima and Sagami for an entire **night** if we're lucky. Enoshima's waves isn't going towards **land** either. And if we're extremely **un**lucky we might get washed out to sea."

She made a small sound that meant the situation was finally sinking in before Ranma-chan sighed. "How strong a swimmer are you?" She shivered lightly as the cold winter breeze caught her. The water was rapidly cooling off and the sun had already disappeared. She cursed again at the entire thought that Akane decided to go rafting on such an inopportune time.

Akane shifted uncomfortably at the question. But Ranma took the oar from her. "Never mind, I have enough strength to paddle us back to shore."

As Akane was about to hand over the paddle before snatching it back again. "Wait a minute. Did you just call me an idiot?"

"Well what would you have me call you then?" Ranma asked indignantly as he wiped the salt water from his eyes. "I can't very well call you brilliant for this little escapade."

"Why you little --" She lunged for the oars, meaning to take them away.

"Akane you idiot!" Ranma screamed as his arms instinctively went around Akane's body in a tight embrace meant to protect her as the raft tilted precariously. "Don't --"

Akane elbowed the petite girl to free herself, managing to do exactly that before the two of them were forsaken by her raft and dropped into the bay.

It took Ranma-chan a few moments to break the surface again, swiping her fingers against her eyes to keep the salt from stinging before she could scan the surrounding waters.

Already dark, she could barely see her hand in front of her but she could hear Akane's wild thrashing over the water. "God, don't tell me you can't **swim**!" Ranma cursed as he took his bearings and swam towards Akane, half grateful that the girl was fighting enough against the water for her to be heard above the waves.

When Ranma drew close, Akane's immediate response was to grab on to him, pulling Ranma down with her when she went under. Ranma managed to break on the surface. "Akane don't --!"

As they went under again, Ranma hit Akane's hands, disengaging them from its grip as the drowning girl broke the surface for another gulp of air.

Clawing for the surface, Ranma stayed an arm's length away from Akane gulping deep breaths of air while murmuring in what she hoped was a soothing voice, "Akane, don't grab me again! We'll **both** drown!"

That increased Akane's thrashing more, and Akane now actively tried to lunge towards Ranma who evaded smoothly in increments towards the upturned raft. "Akane, I'm going to try to bring you to whatever you call that thing of yours, but you'll have to promise me not to fight me."

Ranma didn't know if Akane understood the words or not, but although she was still desperate to live with adrenaline boosting her energy, the cold water will get to them sooner.

They could try swimming against the current, but Ranma didn't know how long he'd last with Akane moving towards the shore, so he opted for the floating raft.

Diving under the cool waters, which didn't even have the small divisions of cold and lukewarm it had earlier in the afternoon, Ranma-chan resurfaced behind Akane and took hold of her arms again to prevent the girl from thrashing. "Please, Akane. Cooperate with me."

Finally, Akane stopped moving, if not understanding the words then the pleading tone Ranma-chan had implored in. Swimming on her side to keep Akane's head fully out of the water, Ranma was able to grasp the raft and helped Akane on to it.

For the second time that evening, Ranma-chan pulled herself out of the water. As soon as she did she lay down on the raft panting, having exhausted most of her energy and losing a lot of her body heat in the dip that they had just received.

Akane was coughing from all of the cold water she had just inhaled, but she was sitting over Ranma.

"Hey, hey," Ranma said weakly as the start of what seemed to be a fit of tears broke out from Akane. "We'll get to shore in the morning, maybe even as soon as I get my strength back. It's always possible that Nabiki will get suspicious of all the time we spent out here in the open and come and fetch us. We'll survive."

"I just wanted to get to Nerima so badly," Akane explained in a frenzied whisper. She touched her undershirt lightly playing with it. She did not voice the fact that she was more worried about him than the fact that they were stranded in the bay.

Ranma reached up to touch her face, rubbing the teardrop away. "Am I really that terrible to live with that you'd risk your life to get away from me?"

A shiver both from the cold and a tinge of longing escaped her, so she wasn't able to answer Ranma's question. Noticing, Ranma pulled her down. "Strip."

"What?" Akane asked a little indignant over the sudden order and a little bit shy over the circumstances that were presented to her.

Ranma closed his eyes against the exhaustion and murmured, "The clothes need to be dried and we need to share some body heat before we freeze to death."

Although Ranma's endurance was exceptional, swimming against the current to get to Akane, the cold water, Akane almost drowning him and dragging Akane back to her device took its toll on him.

He could probably manage a few more strokes, but he didn't trust himself to go towards the right path in the dark and didn't want to waste energy moving towards the wrong direction. So economy over blind bullheadedness won over and he let some of his fatigue show.

"Oh," Akane murmured, she battled with herself for a bit but the need to survive won over modesty as she took off the gi and laid them out towards the other side of the raft. Ranma was just thankful she wore a gi for this escapade instead of a kimono.

If she wore the traditional garment, she probably would have drowned by the time he reached her. That or be faced with the dilemma of ripping it out of her body before trying to haul her over the raft while she was fighting him because she was drowning..

She proceeded to do the same for Ranma as well before Ranma stilled her hands with his own. "Never mind my clothes. I'll get wet again if I swim us to shore." He pulled Akane down so that they were both beside each other on the narrow bamboo planks and whispered, "Let me get some sleep for a while. Hey, if you see a fisherman's boat, don't forget to wave."

"Are you joking?" Akane asked half incredulously. "You're conveniently forgetting the fact that I'm naked."

Ranma smiled on Akane's shoulder as he pressed the woman closer. "Well that'll sure catch their attention."

"You --"

Ranma silenced her by placing a finger across his lips. "Akane," He said with strained patience that he didn't have, with strength that he already expended. "I'm too tired to argue with you and I'm too weak to rescue the two of us. Fishermen gather their goods at night when the waves are moving towards the sea and go back to shore in the morning when the tides reverse. They're bound to be the first people to see us here."

"But, they're bound to notice that I don't have a stitch of clothing on!" Akane protested. "What are you going to do then?"

"Probably the same thing I'm going to do right now to cover you. You have got to be the most talkative woman this side of Japan," Ranma complained as he pulled Akane's head closer for a kiss, just to silence her before he claimed sleep.

* * *

Omokage trudged the trees with a grimace. Ifuku was dead weight. After a few days of travel, she was starting to wear him down, especially since they were having trouble getting food, getting past the samurai and getting the direct antidote.

All of those were the least of their worries because Kodachi stalked them in the night just as she stalked them in the day. Omokage was starting to wonder if the woman slept at all.

"We could have been in Rose Brier in five days." Omokage muttered as he carried Ifuku on the trail. "You would have been cured and we could warn Sohin later."

Ifuku's breathing came in rasps now... the temporary antidote the samurai carried only went so far, especially since the poison hadn't been sucked out of her. She gave him a weak glare. "You don't know him. You wouldn't know what loyalty to him would be."

"Don't lecture me about loyalty," Omokage told her as he jumped towards a tree, propping her up against the trunk. He looked around for signs that they were being followed, but found none. They managed a few moments of respite from Kodachi. "I am talking to you about idiocy."

"And don't **you** patronize me," Ifuku spat as she tried to get up, by now, she was experiencing high fever. Omokage marveled at her ability to fight him, when she was obviously sick. "The temple is nearer than Rose Brier. Kodachi would have followed us. Who would the Saotomes believe the snit of a peasant who lied to them or the ghost of Akane Tendo who they were looking for?"

"I don't know," indecision laced his voice as he watered down a piece of cloth and placed it against her forehead. "But we would have a fighting chance."

"I'm sick, Omokage-san." Ifuku gave a cough and a shiver. She was close to breaking. "What I don't understand is why you follow my orders when you could have taken me back."

"Sheer foolishness," Omokage muttered as he retied her hair in a ponytail that had been detangled during their flight. He fed her berries that he had found on the small woods and watched as she ate them halfheartedly. "We should reach the shrine by noon."

His words fell on deaf ears. Ifuku was already deep in the delirium her fever induced. She called for names that he couldn't understand and mumbled words he couldn't hear. Sohin sighed as he ripped another part of his sleeve noticing that he was losing bits of his clothes day by day.

He looked at her undecidedly. When she had made another whimpering sound, he gagged her efficiently. Something that he had not wanted to do, but was necessary for them to keep hidden from unwanted company especially this close to the border.

Perhaps it was foolishness that made him comply with her wishes, but in the first days, she was thoroughly annoyed and a pain to bring back to Rose Brier. She was still able to hold off a fight then, and fighting her was not an option, especially when Kodachi was so close. The following night, she pleaded for his cooperation, she knew she would never reach her destination without his help.

They could have been in her temple in a shorter time if she had been well and if he gave her less frequent rests. At least the monks there would know some cures... he hoped. Seeing that she was not about to break through the hazy cloud the fever has put upon her, Omokage took her in his arms again. His arms ached. He'd been carrying her for two days. It was a surprise she lasted so long against Kodachi's poison. Most women died instantly after the cold chills.

Omokage frowned as he tried to jump from tree to tree again. In an area patrolled too closely by samurai, leaving tracks in the grass was not an option. Tree-hopping wore him out. He was not trained for aerial maneuvers. It gave him trouble when he was alone, more so now when he had someone with him. It was the reason why he stuck to the ground until now.

Still, they didn't **need** to reach Kamakura's borders. Ifuku had confided that her destination was Tokeiji Temple... and although it was close to the city boundary... it was still inside the city. She said that around this time, Sohin would be there, guarding a boy and his foster mother. Just as when he was in Gokurakuji.

The boy?

Who was he?

A son?

A brother?

With the lies Ifuku had spun, he did not know what to expect.

Tokeiji Temple... he wondered what Sohin and Ifuku could want in such a... unique... haven. Tokeiji was known throughout Japan as one thing, a refuge. It was home to wives who were abused and offered one thing that, at least to Omokage's knowledge, no other temple did.

Tokeiji Temple offered divorce.

* * *

The hasty wake up call managed to rouse Ranma-chan a little from her exhaustion induced sleep. She murmured her disagreements before finally cracking her eyes open to a frantic Akane who managed to turn and face him in the middle of the night.

"Look at the shore." She said pointing towards one side of the dark night. Ranma craned his neck to find that the shoreline was already dotted with torchlight, a beacon, welcoming them home.

'What took you long Nabiki?" He thought as he scanned the area or any boats. 'Probably my orders to stay away.' Even with the help of the torches there were no search parties out to look for them.

As Ranma-chan stood Akane caught her hand. "You're freezing."

"I barely noticed." Ranma said as he stilled Akane's frantic hands against his own. "Come on, let's get rescued. I want a hot bath and a warm futon."

Akane nodded as Ranma dived towards the murky water, resurfacing near the raft and steering it towards home. "Akane, don't do anything like this again. I can't rescue you every day."

"Have you ever thought that I don't want to be rescued?" Akane asked indignantly, her voice somewhat muffled by her gi as she pulled it on.

"Sometimes I wish you'd just be thankful," Ranma said ruefully as she started paddling towards the torch-lit beach.

The short trip towards the shore was seemingly endless and was spent in silence. When Ranma touched the bottom of the lake, Akane jumped off to run towards the house.

Ranma-chan dropped by the kettle leaning against one of the torches and upended it against herself, invoking the change immediately. As soon as he snagged his slippers, he chased after Akane. "Promise me you won't do anything like this again."

There was a long pause before she nodded, then she tried to break away again, but Ranma's grip was firm. "Let me go," Akane demanded pulling her arm from his.  
"As you wish, my lady." Ranma dropped his hands from hers and watched as she clambered towards the steps of Rose Brier and disappeared inside the house.

* * *

Kodachi watched from the trees the flight of the samurai and her peasant maid. She gave a small laugh at the futility of it, but had to give them a small amount of respect for trying.

She fingered a wound that had been inflicted to her by the Tendo woman. There were also several bruises along her jaw, but it didn't matter. The whole purpose of this was to find the Tendos and get Chisei's men. She needed all the men she could get since her previous benefactor didn't know her change of face.

There had been a setback in Chisei's plan. No one in her ranks knew what the elder heir, Tendo Eruchii looked like. They were lucky in Akane and Shori because of the resemblance to their mothers, but Eruchii seemingly disappeared.

It was the reason why Shori had been their first target. It was the reason why Shori wasn't dead yet.

The temple gates loomed ahead of them, and Kodachi gave a small smile at the irony of their sanctuary. They had chosen to unite at a place that broke ties. Kodachi idly wondered if Shori was going to meet her brother here.

It didn't matter to her, she just needed to get Shori away from the samurai she had called Omokage, and the temple was the best place to do it. They arrived inside with little fuss, and the monks were all around them. Ifuku looked terribly sick.

In an instant, they were inside, women -- divorced women – wearing robes of white took Ifuku one way, and the monks took Omokage the other way. 'Perfect.' Kodachi thought, she took note of her disheveled appearance, but decided that it was going to get their sympathy.

She sauntered towards the entrance, as if her tattered clothes were robes fit for the empress. "Boys," she called out holding a vial of clear liquid in front of them. She hated working with monks. They simply had no exploitable libido. "I think I have something that **you** would want."

She scowled at their non-response. Straight to the point then, "There was a girl sick with poison... I can cure her. Where is she?"

The monks eyed her wearily and a woman stepped out of the temple. "She's with her husband. I'll take you to her."

That was a surprise. She did not know her maid had a husband. Then again, she didn't know her maid was samurai either. She put on a docile manner as she fell a step behind the woman, removing her shoes for their benefit she used her most pleasing tone of voice, "Lead the way."

Sohin ran to Ifuku's side the instant that he knew she had been brought in. The little boy that accompanied him looked at them, staring. He gave the boy a small smile. "Yuki-dono, would you mind if you talk to the monks for a while? Look for your foster mother, the monks will explain everything to her." The boy nodded, he was obedient, and quiet. Sohin wondered how long he was going to be able to protect him.

He didn't want anything to happen to the boy and had instructed the monks what they should do incase something should happen to him. He hoped things would never come to that.

The monks left as well, sensing that he needed time alone with Ifuku. The moment they had been left alone, Sohin raised his hand to her face his calm exterior broken. She was sweating, and she looked like she was suffering. The monks had bathed her, changed her clothes, looked at her sickness but could do no more for her. "Why did you come to me, Ifuku?"

At his voice, she broke out of her daze, she stared at him uncomprehending for a moment then as if realizing who she was talking to clutch his collar and brought him close to whisper, "... she's possessed..."

Whatever she said before or after made no sense to him. The fact remained that she was safer at the Saotomes than she was out in the open looking for Sohin. She shouldn't have gone out. Now someone has attacked her. They were in danger... even in sanctuary.

"Don't worry about it," Sohin tried to soothe her in mild tones as he squeezed her hands in comfort, wishing that he could end the torment she felt, but could do nothing but watch as she lay in front of him in slow agony.

There was no hope for her.

She shook her head violently at his words. "No, no, no..."

"Stay with me," Sohin pleaded holding her hands tightly. "Stay with me."

"Sister, I have **just** what you need." Sohin took a deep breath at the sound of the voice then turned around to stare at a face he had not expected to see. She pulled her hand up to her face and touched it. "Do you like it?"

"Akane?" he asked, unsure if he was dreaming.

She was standing inches in front of him. He had not heard the door open or close in his concern for Ifuku.

The voice.

The empty grave.

Chisei had not dug her out after all. She was alive. Yet Sohin felt uneasy at her presence. There was a sense of wrongness at the way she moved. She was dressed in clothes that were tattered. She had fought recently and Sohin concluded that Ifuku had been there. Whether she had fought beside or against the new comer, he didn't know.

There was a long bleeding cut on her shoulder and bruises that were already turning purple marred her face. Her hair was sticky with sweat, blood and the dirt of travel. She looked no worse, and yet no better the last time he had seen her. She tugged on her bluish-black her, her trademark, for no one else he knew had the same hue as she had. "You look ... well."

"For someone who's been left to die, you mean?" She gave a bitter laugh, touching the wound at her shoulder that had been freshly made. She wiped it off its blood and licked her thumb. Sohin repressed a shudder, she seemed to enjoy it.

"I have the antidote for her." She pulled the vial out of what was left of her clothes, brandishing it with lavishness. He suddenly realized that she was the one who inflicted the poison on Ifuku. "I shall administer it to her if she becomes my prisoner."

"We didn't mean to leave you. We thought you were dead. Shori didn't mean to strike you..." Sohin whispered as he stood up, trying to make her see of a battle long past. "No... It was raining, the visibility was poor. Chisei's guards had managed to find us."

She gave a laugh. "A pitiful excuse. The monks tell me she's with her husband." She gave him an appraising eye then shrugged. "How does it feel, peasant, to be married to an heir of a samurai?"

Sohin frowned at her words instantly knowing that she was not Akane Tendo. Still unwilling to believe that someone could look so much like his charge and not be her he spoke once more to confirm her identity, "Shori didn't mean to strike you with her kodachi, Akane... please believe me." He gripped Ifuku's hands tighter.

There was a small sadistic smile on her face as her hand splayed on her stomach. "I'm sure she didn't." She shook the antidote in front of him. "Well, I lose my patience. I want Shori in my hands, and I want our brother too. You give them to me and I'll spare her."

So that was the reason she was here, a trade off. Sohin's eyes narrowed as he eyed the woman critically, knowing that she was not the person whom Ifuku had managed to strike some months ago. "What makes you think I know where her brother is?"

"Why indeed? Maybe because she headed straight for you when she found out I was alive and hunting the Tendo heirs?" She shook the bottle again for emphasis. When he lunged for it she snatched it quickly, putting it back in her tattered robes. "No, no, that would never do. Are you going to give her to me or not? You test my patience. You live solely because you know who her brother is."

"No," Sohin denied as he jumped back, taking Ifuku in his arms, recalling the frantic words she whispered earlier and realizing what she had been trying to say. "You're not Akane. Who are you and what do you want with the Tendos?"

She gave another laugh and shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I don't need to be Akane Tendo when I hold the cure to your pathetic wife. Are you willing to sacrifice the life of your wife for the life of your mere brother-in-law?"

He wavered. He looked at Ifuku and laid her back to the bed again. He brushed the strands of hair away from her face reverently, a motion borne of years of intimacy. Sohin didn't look at his adversary his entire attention on Ifuku but slowly said, "Give her the antidote and I'll tell you where her brother is."

"Tell me, and I'll give it to her." The woman who looked like Akane drove a heavy bargain. She pulled her hand out again, offering her hand to him in welcome, in allegiance. "I give you my **word** that I will cure her as soon as I get them both under my care."

"And then what? Have them killed?" Sohin pushed for time, yet knew that no one would dare defy her. Not when she held the cure for Ifuku's malady. The only cure.

"I just give them to Chisei." Apparently, the woman did not care for what happened to them.

Sohin's head snapped towards the door as it opened slowly and Omokage stepped in. He was garbed in clothing the monks supplied for him earlier and looked at Kodachi, at Sohin and then at Ifuku. "I know where Ifuku's brother is."

Sohin opened his mouth in disbelief and then shut it. "You fool. Don't trade --"

"Don't move, both of you, or I will break her antidote." Sohin and Omokage didn't want to find out if she was bluffing. "How come **you** know where he is?" the woman asked, a bit curious at his sudden appearance, remembering that he had fought with Ifuku at the fields. "You ran towards **him**." She punctuated her point by inclining her head towards Sohin. "It means you don't know where her brother is either."

"He's her husband, why shouldn't she go to him? We went to him because he's in the closest structure of healing." He gave her a smile.

A skeptical look passed over the woman, wondering if he would give her what she wanted just because of Ifuku. "You're sure where he is?"

"Of course I am." He looked at Sohin who, by now, was looking at him intensely, wondering what he was about to reveal. It was obvious that Kodachi was growing impatient so Omokage gave her his best smile and the information she was seeking, "After all, I am Ifuku's brother."

"My companion didn't point at you." She was on her guard, testing him, wondering if he was lying. "How could you be her brother?"

"How could I not be?" he answered smoothly. "I was with her. I protected her. I killed your companion before she could pinpoint me. Are you even sure if she saw me?"

Sohin didn't know if he should thank Omokage or kill him.

Kodachi started to laugh.

* * *

Ranma frowned at the dead body on the site. Some samurai spotted a battlefield in the middle of Rose Brier and Nerima's border earlier and had brought the twins' attentions to it.

From the fight patterns littering the area, there were no more than five combatants. From the apparent moves used, it was possible that one of them was from their own ranks. One of them has the distinct pattern of Kodachi's style and two unknown. One of the unknown people was dead on their doorstep.

"Sift through all the people find out who's been missing at the time it happened. Everyone," Ranma ordered as he looked over the dead body. "It could be a spy."

"Hmmm... already did that. Although the time of the battle could not be determined, the woman's death would clarify some matters." Nabiki trained most of the samurai to learn the fighting patterns of a foe from the battle ground. She found use in it, especially if the attackers were unknown. "The border troubles are clearing up..."

"I sense closure."

"I sense commencement." Nabiki shook her head in disagreement. "Enemies mobilizing have never been good, especially not one so abrupt."

"Maybe they tire."

"Maybe they need reinforcements." Nabiki snorted, she glanced up at their samurai escort and waved them to give them a little privacy. All of them bowed and took respective posts around the Saotomes, far enough not to hear their conversation yet close enough to be of help when the need arose. Nabiki tilted her head in thought, something that has become a habit as of late, and then shook it.

Reaching for the map she brought along, she knelt opposite of Ranma to lay down the well-drawn map of the entire Sagami. Nabiki picked up small stones from around her and littered them on the border. She placed two on Rose Brier, one on the mountains and a couple around the towns.

Ranma looked at the stones that represented friend as well as foe. "If they move, then we don't need to put so much guard on the borders."

"Maybe that's what they want us to think," Nabiki said thoughtfully. She placed five stones on the site where she suspected the battle to have gone and used a short broken reed to represent the dead woman. "The border mysteriously cleared up when these showed up."

"Are they connected?"

"I wouldn't know." Nabiki rubbed her thumb against the leaf thoughtfully looking at the dead woman just meters from where they were. She was killed with three identical blows to her chest, horizontal slash marks from her side which were as wide as she was. "The first blow appeared right below the collarbone, the next across the breasts and then just below them. The precision is exquisite."

"A sword?" Ranma murmured. The wounds were not jagged telling them of the quality and the care of the blade.

"A sword acting as three..." Nabiki muttered trying to bring forth something from memory and discarding it when she couldn't call it forth. "Her hands had identical marks. Her opponent failed the first time, she raised her hands to block. Got her on the second."

"Why would someone do the exact same attack right after it failed?" Ranma shook his head. "It doesn't make any sense."

"That's because **you** do everything uniquely whereas we mortals rely only on redundant and scanty tricks in our arsenal." Nabiki gave him an appraising look. "I don't suppose the attack reminds you of anything?"

"Some," Ranma muttered. There was no law in trying to create a new move so this could be something that he has not seen yet. "But if it was precise... then it was done simultaneously or maybe one after the other. If it was done like that, he could have slashed her from the side... It sounds like the guy was testing his sword. First blow was tai-tai. Next was chiwari. Finished it off with suritsuke. The blows are horizontal but from the way she's bruising on the left side, I'd say the opponent is right handed. Powerful."

Although Nabiki could do all sixteen moves, three of them at once meant that they were dealing with a moderately skilled samurai. But the way he had **not** cut through made it clear that he was not testing his sword, and was just aiming for severe cuts, and the choice of cuts were ironic. Tai-tai, 'very big', chiwari 'splitting the breast', suritsuke, 'rubbing in'.

"That's it." Ranma snapped his fingers. "It's 'Walking Across the Twelve Arced Bridge'."

Nabiki nodded, berating herself for not recognizing the move sooner. The Bridge referred to the human rib cage which consisted of twenty-four ribs. Twelve on each side. "If I'm not mistaken **you** perfected that move."

"I took if from Bloody Rose or something." Ranma gave her a smile. There was no mistaking the name. Now one else could have come up with something that singly screamed roses. "That was Kodachi's move."

"I thought it was Tatewaki's." Nabiki shrugged, not really knowing what they have accomplished through divining the move. Still, something was better than nothing. "That means he's faster than most. Could be faster than me. Controlled, very controlled... and accurate."

"Match up those and we can probably get a who." Ranma ran a hand through his hair. "From there we could get why, and from there, the connection to the border."

"That dead woman looks like a samurai. Yet she seems far from home, the southern lands." Nabiki didn't like unanswered questions but the answers to her questions lay to more questions that could not be answered. "But why would she go all the way from there to here."

"An alliance? Looking for something? Killing someone?" Ranma shook his head. "Too many possibilities. The best shot we have is to look for our guy and ask the right questions."

A dead woman in the middle of Sagami should be investigated soon and dealt with accordingly. Especially one whose death was unknown and whose enemies are unseen. Had it been an assassination attempt on someone important or had she been a ninja attacking, it would not have raised the twin's attention so much.

"What about the one who fought like Kodachi?" Ranma asked.

Nabiki frowned. "No leads there. Kodachi was stuck in the main house all three weeks... and this death is fresh... maybe a day or two. Besides, in her condition, she wouldn't have been able to fight one of ours."

"No..." Ranma looked at Nabiki, a thoughtful expression coming onto his face. "We've seen her fight recently... Kodachi's fighting style isn't exactly her fighting style anymore. She's adapted Anything Goes, remember? And there are no traces of her style in it anywhere."

"A copy cat?" Nabiki snorted, they found roses, black ones, littering the entire diameter of the fighting area. Most of them were soaked through with her poison, and Kodachi's roses **and** potions are one hell of a task to imitate. Not to mention the difficulty of finding and breeding black roses. "Highly doubtful. Maybe Kodachi taught her style to someone before she had amnesia."

"Kodachi learned by herself. She was so possessive of the style that she would **never** have taught anyone else." Ranma remembered the roses outside the main house and wondered what reaction Kodachi would get if he ordered them cut. "Is there something exclusive to the black rose that I don't know about?"

"It has a toxin..." Nabiki turned to pick up one of the petals that were soaked with poison. Both of them ignored Kodachi's dabble in potions because Cologne taught them well enough to counter it.

That and the fact that the more they thwarted Kodachi, the harder it was to pinpoint what she was doing. "It's really harmless by itself, but she mixes it with a certain liquid. It becomes fatal. You'd be dead in an hour if you didn't know what to do."

"Maybe Kodachi's just pretending to **not** know her style..." Ranma murmured in thought but found that doubtful. There are some things that you cannot unlearn and fighting was one of them. Fighting was ingrained to the bone, to the mind, so that you could come up with a counter attack in an instant. To consciously alter the basis of what you've begun takes a while. Kodachi hasn't had that **while**. It could also mean death if faced with a skilled opponent and their samurai certainly showed skill.

"Maybe she was just trying to mislead us." Nabiki frowned, it was highly unlikely. You can't reprogram your body for fighting in one style and the next week change the basics completely. It just wasn't done.

"Mislead us? Then choose Anything Goes?" Ranma shook his head. "That's not a very good choice and we should still have seen traces of her old style left in her. When I fought her, it was completely new. It was like fighting a different person."

Nabiki shook her head. She had no more answers to give.

"I thought I said we should finish this quietly," Ranma muttered, "In a few weeks Happosai is going to fry us for this one."

"You said quickly. There was nothing said about being quiet," Nabiki answered as she arranged the map rolling it thinly so it wouldn't get crumpled. "I'll find out who that Saotome samurai is."

"Hopefully that will end the border problems," Ranma said as he helped her arrange the mess that they had created.

"Hopefully," Nabiki echoed as she stared at the broken reed that had represented the dead woman.

"I ran up to Ryu during the inauguration, Nabiki." Nabiki grimaced at the name while she stood up taking one final look at the mess, but Ranma was watching her carefully. "He offered me to convince you to marry him again."

On occasions that called for it she acted like Ranma's wife, or husband depending on the temperature of the water. They always let each other go their way if deemed necessary. Her grimace twisted to full blown distaste. "My answer is still no." It had been a long time since someone had asked Ranma to get their hands on her. Years ago, it had been common occurrence. Ryu should have known better than to ask when she just talked to him.

Ranma took the papers that Nabiki was holding and bound them together. "He seems to think I'm keeping you here, Nabiki. Am I?" When he brought her back from her husband, he never forbade her to go out. Happosai ordered that she remain within the confines of Sagami but Sagami was a large place. She had rights to the land just as he did. She could rebuild her life.

"No." It was obvious the subject was distressing her. Although she liked to work out Ranma's fiancées, she did not want to talk about hers. "I don't want to leave, Ranma. My son is here. Hanae is here... I have so much work to do..."

Ranma frowned keeping the map and then resting his hand lightly on her shoulder. "That's exactly what I'm talking about, Nabiki. I'm beginning to understand why Ryu talks the way he does about you. You don't have to 'work' here. You can take your son, get married and have a decent life. You don't have to take care of me."

Nabiki withdrew from him. "I don't need you to tell me what to do, Ranma!" she snapped, regretting it instantly. It was the first fight they had since they were children, and she wanted to end it as fast as she could. "I like it here. I like teaching Hanae and Sei. I like taking care of Rose Brier. I like straightening the mess of this town."

"I know you feel like you're indebted to me because of Happosai -- but..."

Nabiki whirled around to face him. "You don't get it do you? I don't want to have my own life. I've had five years of it and I'm sick of it. I don't **like** having a husband. I don't **like** having some other liege lord who I have to bow and scrape to. I don't **like** hiding my curse at every waking moment. I'm content **here** in the middle of Saotome territory."

One of the things that Ranma dreaded were verbal spats and though their little fights were less than witty, Nabiki always manages to win. "Look, I'm just trying to look out for you."

"I know... and that's what I'm doing too." Nabiki threw up her hands. "Look what getting us separated brought us. I have a husband who'll believe anything and you have a wife who'll destroy everything. Husbands are trouble. Now lay off on trying to marry me."

"Husbands are trouble," Ranma mimicked in the exact tone Nabiki used, Nabiki gave him a halfhearted swipe which he had evaded neatly. "This coming from a person who seems so interested in Ifuku's."

Nabiki's smile immediately turned to a frown giving Ranma a warning glare. "Lay off, Ranma. I won't have you matchmaking me to every man that walks into our doorway." It was a surprise that the topic was the sole thing that managed to drive her to hysterics. This was the closest Ranma had seen Nabiki to hysterical anyway.

* * *

Ifuku groaned as she registered her being thrown into a dark damp room. It smelled both of kitty litter and of rotten flesh, and surmised that it was probably the pungent mix of smells that roused her from her delirium.

She felt weightless, and she knew she was going to impact with the ground at any second when strong arms circled her before she fell. She opened her eyes with difficulty and managed to give him a weak smile. "We made it to the temple?"

"Sad isn't it? The temple couldn't protect you and your brother." Ifuku shuddered at the voice. It was an uncanny experience to listen to the voice of your dead sister with another woman's intonation.

She tried to push Sohin away but he held her tightly. "Don't move, Ifuku. You're very weak right now." He was right, she hardly saw beyond shapes, and even that was blurred. Finally, she fell back into Sohin's arms.

There was a flutter of things being thrown at them by someone from the door. All she could make out were the browns and the light filtering through. "Use these for your beddings. I wouldn't want the precious Tendo heirs to die." She gave another one of her annoying laughs. Speaking to the guard in a low voice that still carried in the enclosed area she ordered, "Don't give them anything hot. Especially water."

With those words, she pulled the door shut with a loud bang.

Ifuku pulled herself up with much protest and shielded her eyes. Kodachi had at least given them a small lantern to pass the night. She propped herself up on the wall with Sohin helping her up. "Hot water?"

At her question a small purple cat, from the back of the room moved forward, jumping away from all the other cats in the area.

"Seems like our captor has a fondness for cats," Sohin quipped as he took one of the rags that Kodachi threw into the room and swabbed it with water. As Kodachi promised, she gave Ifuku the treatment she needed. They wondered how long she would continue to do so.

"No. She doesn't."

Ifuku turned around to see who the voice belonged to and groaned when she realized who it was. She found Omokage standing by the doorway leaning on it, with a small frown on his face. She had hoped that at least, Omokage had not been taken along with them. "Unfortunately Sohin, Omokage is right," her words were controlled and soft.

Omokage answered the question that had been left in the air. "Lord Ranma and Lady Nabiki are deathly afraid of cats."

Ifuku nodded in affirmation pushing away the wet towel Sohin was placing on her head. "She also said not to get hot water on the kitten for a reason." She crooked her finger at the purple cat, which then jumped towards her. Ifuku's hand stroked its back.

Sohin looked at the animal and cocked his head to the side. "For it not to get mad?" he asked uncertainly.

Ifuku smiled, the two men noticed that the cat didn't purr to her administrations unlike normal kittens do. "Little cat, do you know of Jusenkyo?" The cat meowed in confirmation, while the two men marveled at its intelligence.

"Our problem of getting out is almost solved," Ifuku whispered confidently stroking the cat's hair affectionately. "Now, my lady, I wonder who you might be?" The cat shrank at her touch and Ifuku nodded. "Omokage, keep her away from Kodachi's sight."

"Kodachi?" Sohin asked, wonderingly. Ifuku patted his hand weakly.

"Kodachi, the mistress of the Saotome household, has gotten herself a new face..." Ifuku murmured as she took hold of Sohin's gaze. "We're in dire trouble."

* * *

Nabiki raised her hand to knock against the shoji of the Dragon Chambers, not liking her task for a minute. The maid that greeted her escorted her towards Kuno's room. Nabiki's displeasure blossomed to a smile as the door opened.

Kuno had been looking out of the window in a thoughtful manner when she was brought in. He nodded at the maid to go and Nabiki's own maid, who she had brought to show her authority as Lady of Sagami, Nabiki dismissed. There were no other samurai inside the room with him.

"What gives me the pleasure of Lady Nabiki **finally** coming to notice my existence in her gracious city?" he asked and Nabiki couldn't identify if the tone she heard was resentment or sarcasm. She had forgotten his presence because of the recent turn of events, and he has been in Kamakura for more than a month.

Nabiki sat complacently at the zabuton, arranging her kimono around herself. She wore it instead of the usual Chinese get-up with the same reason in mind when she decided to bring her maid: she wanted to show him her authority. "You wound me. I'd come because of concern for your sister."

There was a pause as he thought about the words, then shook his head. "You said she was fine. Her injuries with the horse were minor. I do not find any need to see her."

"You're her brother," Nabiki quipped, placing her hands complacently on her lap. At that moment, Nabiki looked more of a doll that wished to please more than anything else. It amused Kuno that she would go to so much trouble for a woman that she didn't even like. "Don't you care?"

"Of course I do," Kuno answered he gave her a wary look that told her he didn't trust her. "We've grown apart, my sister and I. Not everyone in Japan shares the same sentiment you and your brother hold for each other." There was another moment of weighted silence while Kuno looked at her sideways. "You are not doing this because you fear she might die and you will shortly follow, are you?"

Nabiki slammed the palm of her hand against the tatami. "I do not fear **my** death, Kuno. I fear that if she does she will take my brother along with her." She shook her head, not looking at him. "I'm not a fool. If she dies **naturally** I don't need to be killed by a Kuno sword. Read her contract from time to time."

"You depend too much on your brother, Lady Saotome." Kuno shook his head with obvious dislike for Ranma. "I sense you'd do anything for him."

"Maybe I would," Nabiki answered guardedly. "Now... are you going to see your sister or not?"

He thought about her demand. "What are you willing to give, Lady Nabiki, in exchange for fulfillment of your request?"

Nabiki regarded him for a while, knowing that she should have expected his demands. She bled Kuno dry in their younger days. She has always found it pleasurable to manipulate him. He would take pleasure in paying her back. She bowed her head. "What do **you** want?"

He stood up then sat across her, leaving his two swords by the window, cupping her face so that she would look at him eye to eye. "Let us talk, Nabiki."

Nabiki pulled her face away from his solid fingers. "Do not insult me again by touching my face, Kuno." He dropped his outstretched hand, resigned at her anger, and then raised his eyebrow. When Nabiki was sure he wasn't going to do it again she continued, "We're **already** talking Lord Kuno."

Shaking his head Kuno stood up and took his two swords. Nabiki watched him closely. He did not turn to look at her again, but spoke, "I heard that your fiancé has left town."

Nabiki kept her emotions in check when she answered, "He'll be back to marry me." Nabiki had not known what possessed her to say the words since there was very little chance for a reunion with Sohin.

"You are sure of this?" Kuno asked almost sounding worried for her sake.

Nabiki just continued to stare at her hands, she accepted the fact that she **was** going to dance at Kuno's wedding night, but he would not wangle a confession out of her prematurely. Her pride kept her from saying that much. "Yes."

"And you are sure of this because he loves you?" Kuno asked quietly.

"I don't see what business it is of yours." Nabiki's eyes were defiant when she answered. She may have come in the Dragon's Chamber's for Akane's sake, but she would not allow to be questioned in the manner that he was doing. "I don't see **you** married. You're a month overdue."

"My beloved has been struck with indecision," Kuno answered after a while. Nabiki suppressed a small smile at the irony of Kuno marrying someone who was afflicted with his own weakness. "I am not sure if she loves me."

Nabiki shifted uncomfortably, not knowing why Kuno was telling her of his betrothal problems. She was sure that he would not have told her if he had not heard of Sohin's departure. "Well, do you love her, Lord Kuno?"

"I do," he said the words without thought.

Nabiki wanted to believe the response as the truth but knew that he believed in his own truths and made them up to suit his needs. She probed lightly at his determination, "Much more than your pigtailed goddess?"

There was a pause, but while Nabiki knew he was going to disappoint her, he answered her in an earnest voice, "The pigtailed goddess is a dream. Someone unattainable. I admire her, but I do not **love** her. In the waking moments, I chase her just to get father to believe me. My father is already looking at a prospective wife... and given me the ultimatum to find someone to marry." There was a pause, another sigh. "The pigtailed goddess was a scapegoat. An escape from reality. I want my..."

He used Ranma-chan much like the way she used Sohin, at least he was straightforward about it. "We are too much alike, Kuno-san," Nabiki whispered, too low for him to hear, but she had let it out anyway. "Don't give up on this other girl. Besides I'm sure the pigtailed girl would be **happy** to see you devote your attentions to someone else."

"I imagine she loves another." Kuno shook his head, still referring to his mystery woman. Nabiki wondered idly what Ranma would think of that when Kuno turned to look at her. "Would I break such love?"

"In the end, it's up to **her** to chose if you should break it," Nabiki answered standing up, not wanting to intrude on his time anymore. "I'm sorry to disturb you in your... ponderings, Lord Kuno."

She began to bow when he turned around to address her, "No. It is all right. I shall see my sister."

Nabiki didn't think that her efforts would yield success, but concealed her surprise. "I will arrange for a meeting where no watching eyes can pry."

He smiled at her, it was a sad one. "Yes, I would like that, Nabiki."

Escorting Kuno across the town towards Rose Brier was not an unusual occurrence in Kamakura. When they were younger, it fell on Nabiki's shoulders to entertain visiting samurai. When Ranma had married Kodachi, his trips didn't frequent, but they were not unheard of. After all, he knew that his pigtailed goddess was in this particular Saotome stronghold.

Knowing that she shouldn't let a visit like that pass without her or Ranma listening in on the conversation, she had already resolved on a plan of action earlier on.

As soon as they entered Rose Brier, she bowed to Kuno and handed him over to a samurai who already had instructions to bring Kuno up Akane's room. After Kuno was safely away and his samurai cleanly dispatched in front of the doors of his sister's room, Nabiki managed to find Ranma. She ushered him into Ifuku's room, which was conveniently alongside Akane's own. They evaded the samurai standing watch by using one of the other corridors.

One thing that made Nabiki absolutely adore the shoji that separated the rooms was the perfect acoustics. With little effort and stealth on both their parts, they could hear exactly what was being talked about in the adjacent chamber without being spotted.

However, Ranma wouldn't outright agree to spy on his own wife's family conversation. Coercing him to do so required a glib lie, "I rearranged the rooms last night." In times of need, rooms were shuffled easily by moving around the shoji. It was easily done and ritually arranged if the liege was a suspicious lot fearing his own death at every turn.

She hadn't executed any such order, but Ranma wouldn't outright doubt her word on it. "And I forgot where I placed that godammned map you were carrying around. Help me look for it here will you? Just don't make a sound. I wouldn't want to disturb Akane in the next room, she has a visitor. Think of it as a training exercise."

"Geesh, you think of training ideas cookier than pops!" Ranma muttered as he got down on his hands and knees opening the small alcoves where Nabiki could have misplaced the small paper.

"Right..." Nabiki deadpanned, raising her eyebrow at his choice of words. Sometimes his vocabulary slipped back to the times before they were daimyo but she had to wonder where he picked up the words like -- cookier. Their parents would have an apoplexy. "Like **you** weren't the one who enlisted children to stone us to death, while we were running on a river, with rabid dogs chasing us **just** so that we could be faster."

"We were younger," Ranma protested, as if that meant anything to her. "We're **supposed** to be wiser now."

"Ahem." Nabiki cleared her throat. "Point one, that incident with the children was **last month**. Point two, you **never** learn. "

Ranma held up his hand when he heard the familiar lilt of the voice in the other room. "You didn't lose the map did you?" he accused, lowering his voice another notch as Nabiki inched closer to the shoji to press her ear on it shamelessly.

She shot him her most innocent smile, she didn't even pretend to look for the paper as she said in a low voice, "I just wanted your opinion about your wife's visitor. Is that so bad?"

-

When her maid announced a visitor, Akane took a deep calming breath, trying to imagine how she was going to act. She stood up from writing her letters to take a good look at him when he entered her room. He was tall, stately, and didn't look so bad on the eyes. He carried a katana on his shoulder, boastful of his high standing as a samurai. Even his blue hakama seemed tailored for the trip alone.

"Come in." Akane smiled as she led her first guest towards one of the small zabutons in her room that she hardly used. "I hope you like my room."

He looked surprised to see it and took a second look around the room noting the difference from when he last visited her. "I never knew you liked pastels, Kodachi." He nodded, seemingly approving of her choice.

Akane was a little self conscious on how she should act as hostess of the house. She had never been one, for Kasumi obliged all visitors with her warm smile and pleasing manner. Now, she was forced in the role with the feudal time's rigid formality. "Oh, they're all very cheerful. I like yellow. It soothes my eyes. Please call me, Akane."

At that, he gave an uncertain look. Reluctant, and somewhat curious at her choice he repeated the name, "Akane?" He heard the name pass through his lips and frowned in disapproval. "Why choose a name for yourself when you know it was Nabiki's child?"

"It's **my** name." Then remembering that he was a guest, she withdrew her tongue quickly. She didn't want to fail on the first 'diplomatic' task Nabiki gave her, and not so soon after all her other attempts at trying to be a wife. "No one has forbidden me against it."

He gave a suffering sigh. "No one will." He put the sword down against

his side and took a good look at her. "I'm your brother and yet you confuse me. You take no other's standards but your own."

"Brother?" Akane repeated, Nabiki had not warned her. But then, she should have expected that she wouldn't have been warned. She looked at his features, trying to etch it to her mind and noticed their resemblance. "I've sent you letters."

"Oh?" He looked genuinely surprised. At least she knew that he wasn't actively avoiding her even if Tatewaki and Kodachi did not have the best relationship in the world. Although they were siblings, they regarded each other aloofly and when forced to showed tolerance towards each other because of rigid rules. "I traveled. I was in Yokohama, I have been in Kamakura for a while."

"Oh..." Akane's voice dropped then remembered something he said. Curiosity won over. Knowing that she would never find out on her own, she asked, "Do you know how Nabiki's child died?"

Kuno gave her another uncertain look. "They say you have amnesia?"

Akane frowned, not knowing **who** would believe her if her own brother doubted her own words. She nodded in answer, and he paused for a moment wondering how he would tell her. "Very well... I shall tell you."

He shifted his position on the zabuton. "It was Nabiki's first pregnancy. She was excited about it and naturally, the first person she wanted to inform of it was ..."

-------------------------

"...Ranma!" Nabiki hugged her brother with her delight and excitement, and Ranma was a little surprised at her affection. Even as a child, Nabiki had not been particularly demonstrative of her feelings. Yet, there she was embracing him with all her might, tears flowing from her eyes. Ranma would have never believed it if he had been told a day earlier.

For Nabiki's part, she wouldn't have believed it either. Ranma pulled her up and raised her above his head, like he would a child. "Really, Nabiki?"

"Really!" Up until that time, Nabiki had not believed in tears of joy either. She had thought it was a foolish notion of the Amazon women... but she realized then that it was something to be experienced rather than be told about. "I'm going to be a mother! You're going to be an uncle!"

Ranma was glad. Nabiki was getting increasingly bored in the house. She missed their time together badly and at her husband's she had been treated just as a wife should be. She was stripped of responsibility of the samurai, the land, the training... and she had nothing to do with her time except manage the house which she could do in her sleep. "Then you shouldn't be practicing the arts until my nephew is born!"

Making a face as Ranma let her down, she groaned at the notion. " I hate doing nothing. This is like waiting for eternity." She splayed her fingers across her belly smiling. Ranma sensed she'd wait for eternity if she had to. "You better come out early, you!"

"Yep!" Ranma bent towards Nabiki's stomach and whispered, "I need to have a boy around here."

Nabiki slapped his head playfully. "She's not a nephew!"

Ranma could only raise his eyebrow at that. He helped Nabiki towards the zabuton, arranging her seat, opening the shoji and generally fussing over her. A hearty exchange of places. "How do **you** know? I mean you're not a psychic."

"No." Nabiki smiled at him, as if she knew a secret that he wasn't privy to. "But I went to visit Rian. She's at Ummei's, I think he was the one who fished her out of the sea."

"Rian? What's she doing here?" At the mention of the Lost One's name Ranma shuddered. He and Rian had not parted on good terms, and she had reinforced her vow to kill him. That had been ages ago... when they were in China. "I thought she was banished."

"The reason why she's here is that she **is** banished, silly." Nabiki said, sighing happily. Ranma thought that if he told her he'd just divorced Kodachi and the world was ending she'd still be oblivious. "I found out by accident."

"What's that got to do with my nephew?" At the mention of nephew, Nabiki hit his head with her two forefingers. He gave her a glare, but the damnable smile that was plastered across her face was still there. Ranma shuddered, he simply wasn't used to Nabiki being this **giddy**.

"That's what I was about to tell you, you big baby. 'Is Amazon Technique buried in 300 years of history!'" She scowled when he wasn't impressed by her imitation. "She can read the baby's ki! Ummei didn't like it though -- he said it was like peeking into a wrapped present, Rian assured him she won't do it anymore, especially if they have one of their own."

"I'm sure you know how to do it by now." They were similar in that way. They only needed to see it once, and they could get the principle down. "No more trips to Rian!"

"Rian is nice," Nabiki answered, trying to defend her friend, hugging a pillow close to her.

"Sure, if you like maniacs who try to kill you." He's been at the receiving end of the bonbori more than once. He wondered why Nabiki liked the girl because she had her own share of bonbori bashing too. "She's **definitely** uncute."

"Right... act your age, Ranma." Nabiki stuck out her tongue at him, succeeding in making her earlier statement silly, then dropped the pillow to the side. "Anyway... my baby is a girl."

"So what do you plan to call her?" Ranma asked, stealing the pillow in case she started to get ideas about bashing him, even with something as innocuous as a pillow, he'd seen his cousins get violent when they were pregnant. "Have you told your husband?"

"No. I said you were the first to know, didn't I?" Nabiki grimaced at the task, but smiled again. "Well... dearest told me once he wanted a girl named Kasumi. **But** I'd like her to be called Akane. What do you think?"

He scrunched up his face in concentration, trying hard to look like he was serious, and failing miserably. Nabiki already had another material in her hand, this time a scroll she saw lying around, the threat of her hitting him with it hung in the air if he didn't answer. "Okay, okay! Sheesh, you sure are violent when you get pregnant, Nabiki. I think Akane sounds great."

She dropped the scroll, already looking like she was lost in the clouds, Ranma let out the breath he had not known he was holding. Nabiki gave him a sidelong glance. "You're not saying that because I'm your sister, are you?"

"No, of course not!" Ranma answered indignantly.

"Or is it because you know I can beat you out of your hide?" Nabiki asked playfully.

Ranma sighed. He certainly didn't want to be anyone's punching bag if he could help it, but if Nabiki needed to get a few punches in before she delivers the baby he was going to oblige her with one or two.

This was the scene that the Kuno siblings had walked in to when they arrived. Tatewaki took one look and had the decency to look embarrassed at interrupting a private affair. Not that there was any overt show of affection involved. They were just holding each other's hands. Kodachi raised an eyebrow at Nabiki and turned to Ranma. "I thought **she** was happily married?"

"And I thought **you** were happily dead," Nabiki groused at the sudden change of mood. Then she lifted her hand up to her mouth in an exaggerated gesture. "Oh, I forgot. Demons aren't happy when they die. You just get kicked back to the human world. They just **have** to torture the living."

Kuno gave a warning look at his sister, and Ranma touched Nabiki's shoulder, but Kodachi ignored her brother and stared defiantly at Nabiki. "You're not wanted in **my** house, Ikkasei Nabiki. Leave. Immediately."

"No." Ranma stood up between his sister and Kodachi. "She's my sister. I demand your respect."

Kuno pulled his sister back from the confrontation, and she reluctantly complied. Ranma turned back to Nabiki and gave her a weak smile in way of apology for the behavior of his wife, helping her to stand up to adjourn to a different room.

He did not expect Kodachi to turn around, maneuver around him and slap Nabiki on the face. Nabiki didn't even acknowledge it. Ranma pushed Kodachi away from his sister. "You disturb the wa of the house Kodachi. Leave."

Kodachi always disturbed their peace... it was not new. Kuno took his sister by the shoulder and led her outside. "I'm sorry for the mess, Lady Nabiki. I'm sure my sister didn't mean her hasty words."

"Don't apologize for her Lord Kuno. It's not fitting," Nabiki answered while Ranma was assessing the reddening face from her side, sore from the slap that Kodachi had inflicted. Nabiki smiled at Kuno. "You sugarcoat her words, but I know what it means."

She assured Ranma she was alright before he let her go. "I'm sorry for disturbing the wa of your house, Lord Ranma." She bowed to her brother then turned to Kodachi. "Lady Kodachi, Lord Kuno." She inclined her head, and squeezed Ranma's hand. She gave him a final look saying that she did not want him following. "I shall take my leave."

Ranma moved to follow against her wishes, but she stared him down. She had nodded to bid them farewell and turned towards the door when Kodachi got free of Kuno and slammed her against the wall, hitting her in a full body slam.

She had been unconscious for an entire day.

Nabiki had lost her baby.

-------------------------

Akane raised her hand to her mouth, shaking her head. "No..."

"You did not know of her pregnancy, but that was uncalled for. Lady Nabiki already retreated." He gave a disapproving look. "Her husband never knew of that child."

Pain started in the corners of her heart. Tears started to shed, for the loss of a child that she never knew. "She sounded different."

"The Saotomes changed after their marriages," Kuno admitted, his eyes still bored through her. "But none so much as the change Nabiki's miscarriage brought. Both of them lost a part of their souls with that baby. Lady Nabiki because she was the mother and Ranma because he had watched her slowly disintegrate."

There was nothing more Akane wanted than to be left alone right then. Knowing that she shouldn't have pried into someone else's business, and now, she could not think of anything but the baby who bore her name.

Kuno took in her reaction, not believing that the person who caused Nabiki's own miscarriage, was next to tears. "Stop weeping, it's done. Lady Nabiki has moved on."

She shook her head. "I know what she must have felt." She looked up to the ceiling to try to hold back her tears and sniffled. "I'm really sorry."

Kuno nodded and took her hand. It was the first time he tried to comfort his sister since they were children. "You must tell this to Lady Saotome. I am not the one who has grieved."

Shaking her head, she brought her gaze back down to him. "No. What would a delayed apology do?"

"More than you would think, sister." Kuno stared at her for a while waiting for Akane to compose herself. "You have changed."

Akane gave him a smile, and Kuno realized that his sister didn't look -- demented -- when she did. It was a sincere one that he rarely saw in her adulthood. "Have I? Ranma tells me... Ranma tells me that you talked."

"We met in Yokohama, yes," Kuno confirmed. He and Ranma were not on the best of terms. They avoided each other completely when they could and were civil when they must. Considering their history, it was the wisest thing to do. "I don't believe we've had the opportunity to..."

This time, it was Akane's turn to squeeze Kuno's hand. She wanted to know the reason for her husband's sudden cold attitude. "Please, there must be **something** you talked about or said to him. He was terribly upset when he came home from Yokohama. He assures me it's something I should know because **you** told me."

He brought his eyebrows together in concentration and let got of Akane's hand so he could lean his head on his fist. It was out of place for someone who looked like he took everything seriously. Seeing him **now** Akane would have never guessed that he and his sister had been equally known for their fanatical attitude towards their passions.

Finally he snapped his fingers. "Ahhh! I know what you speak of!" He inched closer, as if it was a secret that no one should overhear. "You see... I commanded you to make a good wife out of yourself or carry out seppuku."

Akane shook her head, uncomprehending. Kuno nodded. "I also did not understand why Nabiki was upset, but she explained to me that it was all a game."

At those words Akane bit her lip as she shook her head, unbelieving. "No... he thought I'd **betrayed** him." In a world where loyalty was more important than love, this betrayal would have been the most unforgivable of all sins. "He thought I was playing around with his head..."

Akane passed a shaking hand through her hair. "I said I had no motive... and now here it is. Damn Kodachi." She shook her head again and in a softer voice repeated. "Damn Kodachi."

When Kuno heard this, he took both of Akane's shoulders and shook her. "Come to your senses, sister! Damning yourself will not lead you anywhere." Akane didn't even bother to break from his grip.

When he finally stopped shaking her, Akane wrapped her hands around herself and closed her eyes, remembering the problems she brought. "I'll get a divorce."

"What!?" Kuno asked, not believing the words that came out of her mouth. "You'll be banished forever from the clan... no one would accept you."

She didn't open her eyes. 'Banishment.' She had not thought the entire idea through. She didn't expect to be banished. It was the worst punishment anyone could receive. Most of the people who were expelled from their clans could never find a permanent another place to live. No one would accept them. 'Do I really want to do this?'

"Yes," Akane said with conviction, answering her question. "I don't **care** anymore. I'll leave Nerima... I'll go to Ryugenzawa..." her statements were getting linked now, frenzied. "I had a fiancé from there when I was little. It's a remote little forest in the middle of nowhere... I'll live in a temple. I'll be a nun. I'll do anything."

He was baffled. Kodachi never willingly submitted herself to suffering. If she had a choice about it, she'd opt for luxury, and she was leaving the most comfortable setting she had in years. "But why?"

"Because I love him," Akane answered sorrowfully, her answer was barely heard in the room, but Kuno understood. He had also felt her pain. "He doesn't love **me**. I can't stay here anymore."

Kuno could only open his mouth in protest, but no words came out. He was hard pressed to believe that the person in front of him was his sister. Maybe she gained her soul when she had fallen from that horse, or she lost the final grips of sanity she had with it. "You're a fool if you think you can live like that! You have not experienced a day of suffering in your life and you'll accept **banishment**?"

Placing her hands against the tatami, Akane bowed. "I'm sorry. I could probably search for my ancestors --"

"What are you **talking** about?" Kuno demanded. "Your ancestors are long **dead**. And what of this fiancé in Ryugenzawa? Your first fiancé is Ranma... and for that matter, where the hell is Ryugenzawa anyway?"

In her agitation she forgot she was living another life and spoke words from **her** life. She apologized quickly. He shook his head at the foolishness she showed, but admired the bravery that came with it. Finally he sighed. "Well... you could probably get away with your dowry if need be... I'm going to see to that if you try to divorce. At least, you'll have a home."

"No!" Akane raised her eyes to meet Kuno's. "I'll leave Rose Brier with Ranma. I don't know anything of managing the house and I'm sure someone will just take it away from me."

"How can I help you when you refuse all help I give?!" Kuno asked, frustrated at the words she was saying. "You will die in the open Kodachi, and as much as we have grown apart, I don't wish that fate to befall you."

"No... I won't die," Akane answered, convinced. "I will manage."

"But Kodachi!" Kuno tried a different tactic. "If you leave you die for nothing. Marriage is not an act borne out of **love**. It is a strengthening of ties."

'Traditional Japan can be a pain,' Akane thought, but shook her head at it. Once, when she was sixteen, she overheard a classmate talking about her visit to her grandparents. The girl asked if her grandmother married out of love or out of an arranged marriage. Her classmate was slapped immediately and her grandmother's response equally a disheartening view of the times, 'Love? Don't talk dirty child!'

That was merely two generations removed from her own. If she gave up now, what was the point of getting out of her engagement to Shinnosuke? "I'm sorry, but it's something **I** want. I don't want to make both of us suffer just because it's done. I'll just run away... that would make him married to me... there would be the ties... you wouldn't tell the Clan would you?"

"No." She was still his sister, and his loyalties lie with her. They both knew that, even after a difficult childhood. That was the reason he tried for her to see reason. The reason why he tried hard for her to reform. "You cannot get what you want by running away."

"No, but I would have set him free," Akane whispered.

Kuno was equally appalled at her idiotic notions. "He could choose a consort if he wanted. He **is** free."

"It's not the same. I would still be **here**." She gave him a pained expression at Tatewaki's lack of understanding, at his lack of want to understand. "I will leave. It's my final decision."

Recognizing the determination in her eyes, he sighed. "Couldn't you at least wait?"

"What's there to wait for?" No matter how she wanted to convince herself otherwise, there was nothing to do but leave. No matter how she wanted to stay, there was nothing left to stay for. "I cannot stay here and kill **both** of us."

"Give him at least until the New Year to prove differently," Kuno prodded, wanting to stall her decision, knowing that if she relented, he might be able to stall another time. If he managed to stall for one, he might be able to stall for another. "Don't they say that people are worth second chances?"

Second chances, it was something that was all too familiar. She sighed and nodded. "Okay, until ganjitsu. I'll stay until then." At least her brother placated for the moment. 'A week until I leave then.' Akane thought grimly. 'Ranma would not like this at all.'

Before Kuno stood up to leave he asked her, "What is it that you find in that man, sister? Ranma is a good man, but I know this was never a marriage for love. What made you decide to endure this emotional torture and suddenly leave with a divorce?"

Akane weighed the question before she answered. It was a valid question, more so than what Kuno believed he was asking her. She was a newly 'widowed' girl because she lost Ryoga completely and has been torn from her baby just as surely... and in his eyes, Ranma would not have shown her anything other than quiet disdain. It was a well known fact that the Saotome-Kuno alliance was brought about by an arranged marriage. And though it appeared Ranma was fond of Kodachi before, that sentiment died as soon as he found out just what kind of woman Kodachi was.

"At first I wanted to stay because he was my husband, because I wanted to work things out," Akane said as she fingered the cloth that Ranma had painstakingly sewn for her inauguration. It was at her side in standard display if she might ever need to wear it, if the Lord Happosai sent for her, even though it was an unlikely event. "Ranma is not only a good man, brother. He is a good father, a good husband, and you cannot really appreciate that from the outside looking in. Does love have to have a clear cut reason? Isn't it enough that I already am willing to stop trying and give him the thing that he wants most? A divorce."

Kuno closed his eyes to empathize with her words. Finally deciding that his little sister understood what she was getting into, he said, "If I am fortunate enough to know what love is, sister, then it must be because of your reasons."

Ranma and Nabiki were quiet when they had moved away from the shoji. Both were speechless at the account and Akane's reaction to the tale.

When Ranma started to open the door towards Akane's room, Nabiki rapped his hands lightly. "I promised no prying eyes, Ranma. Keep it."

He scowled at her. "Then what's this called?"

"This is listening ears, not prying eyes," Nabiki whispered indignantly, although the protest was halfhearted. "How much did you hear?"

"I knew you were up to something when you had brought me here, but what's the point if we can't act on it?" Ranma whispered furiously. "This is low, Nabiki."

"This is to learn a little about the healthy relationship of brother and sister." She stood up from her position since the conversation next door was already ending and her back was aching. She felt like she had kept that position for ages. "Are we going or not?"

"She said she wanted to grant me divorce..." Ranma mulled over the circumstances as he pulled himself up. He leaned against one of the Shoji contemplatively. "It's... unusual."

"And out of character," Nabiki quipped as she stretched her coiled muscles from being crouched against the shoji for so long. "For once I agree with her moronic brother. Still... I've already made up my mind to trust her."

"I have too." Nabiki didn't know if he meant agreeing with Kuno or trusting Kodachi. "Divorcing me is a stupid idea."

"Is that your pride talking?" Nabiki pointed out as she fixed her kimono then pressed her ear against the shoji that led to the hallway to find out if it was empty. She did not want either Kuno or Akane to see them leaving the room.

"She said she's giving me until the New Year. Are you helping me convince her to stay?" Ranma asked sweetly, Nabiki pretended to cough, and he rolled his eyes, or at least tried to. "Seriously."

"Oh fine," Nabiki muttered as she opened the shoji and stepped into the lit hallways. "I'm helping you with everything else concerning the woman so why not this?"

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Ranma and co. were borrowed from the brilliant mind of Rumiko Takahashi. The book this fic was originally based from was _When there is Hope_.

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******Endnotes: **

The **two short swords **or **kodachi **that Ifuku's carrying is not really standard samurai sword. Samurai hold one katana and one short sword for beheading a Wazakashi (as well as technically a Tanto for family crest, emergencies, and Seppuku i believe) thanks to **Bobby Blackrose **for pointing it out. Before the Meiji restoration, peasants were allowed to carry swords, and therefore Ifuku wasn't really breaking any laws by using the kodachi.

It's mentioned that Ifuku has a vacation every **Minazuki**. Minazuki is the traditional name for June and means the water month. Minazuki is the traditional name, and Rokugatsu (or the sixth month) is its current equivalent. Corrections are thanks to Howard Russel and Wikipedia (search under Japanese calendar.

----------------------------------------------

As promised here's the hierarchy of Feudal Japan: (I don't know how this'll look like since we don't have tables here in FF.N oh joy and I don't know if there are tabs so to see the CORRECT formatting go to my livejournal and look for the feudal japan hierarchy by the search method or the memories. Date would be Dec. 21, 05

(taken from 'Queer things about Japan 1918 C/o UP – Diliman Library)

**_THE MIKADO_  
**_The Shogun (Commander in Chief)_

_**THE MILITARY CLASSES**_

Remember _**Koku **_is grain of rice that is paid to the underlings back then. Or rather, it's a measure of rice

I's are placed as place holders (so that they look like tables)

_Daimyo or Buke_

_The Go-Sanke _I Three Exalted Families I I 350,000 - 610,500_ koku _I  
_Kokushiu _I Lord of Provinces I 18 in number I 200,000 - 1,000,000 _koku_ I  
_Kamon _I Members of the Family I 18 in number I 10,000- 200,000 _koku_ I _Kamon __ie_, the Tokugawa  
_Tozama _I Outside Lords I I 10,000 - 200,000 _koku_ I  
_Tozama _I _ie_, not of the Tokugawa family

_Fudai _I Successful Races I About 115 I 10,000-200,000 _koku _I

_Samurai _

_Hatamoto _I Banner Supporters I 80,000 families I 500-9,999 _koku_ I  
_Gokekenin_ I Common Soldier I … a lot … I up to 500 _koku_ I

Hatamoto are the principal functionaries or _Yakunin _of the shogun.

For the purposes of Rendezvous with Fate, I have placed the character as follows:

Happosai around the _Kokushiu_ Ranma as _Tozama/Fudai_. Although he refers to himself as _Hatamoto_ if you picked that up. He was hatamoto before, promoted when he became daimyo (as in he's still in the military class but higher than a samurai) but lower than Happosai. Nabiki as _Hatamoto_ when within Saotome ranks. The Highest member of the Tendos, Ikkaseis and Kunos as _Tozama_

If you remember, Tokugawa still isn't the supreme ruler in my fic yet... so there might not be a Tozama or Kamon... so I changed the history around a bit... it's called creative license

_**HEIMIN (or Common People)**_

_Haikasho _or farmers  
_Shokunin _or artisans  
_Akindo _or commercial class, the keeper of the smallest stall being called a merchant.

Besides these five classes (the mikado, the shogun, daimyo, samurai, heimin) there were, not worth of classification, being considered as pariahs :

_The Eta _(unclean) leather-dressers and grave-diggers  
_The Hinin _(not-men) paupers  
_The Geisha_ dancing and singing girls  
and _Joro_ prostitutes  
_The Yamabushi _a lower order of medicant monks

After the abolition of feudalism in 1869, the population was thus classified:

_The Tenshi or Kotei _Emperor  
_The Shinno_ Imeperial Family  
_The Kazoku_ the nobility, consisting of former _Kuge _and Daimyowithout Reference to previous rank  
_The Shizoku_ Formerly the samurai  
_The Heimin _Still the commoners

**

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****Author's Notes:**

**06/02 edit** :: my sister has been telling me that Sohin and Yuki's relationship is a long standing loyal servant-master thing, and therefore, Sohin would treat Yuki as a revered master and his honorifics would follow. Even if Yuki wouldn't ask Sohin to call him with -sama, it would be on Sohin's pride not to call him -sama and therefore a compromise like -dono would emerge. All future reference to this have been changed.

Merry Christmas!

I think this is my first Christmas release, but I can't be too sure. Release to the FFML will follow, and yes, any comments will edit this even if it's posted sigh even though I get my FFML releases by bulk it ensures I get all of the squabbles by bulk too.

I'll try to get the next post by next month. Editing this monstrosity seems to be taking longer than writing it. (I was distracted by Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter Series and Kim Harrison's the Hollow). My website is DOWN since I can't seem to make everything right since my computer crashed. I'll work on it this summer. Meanwhile just go to livejournal for updates.

I can't say if I'm pleased with this chapter or not. After Chapter 13 which was a GOOD chapter, chapter 14 seems like a filler. I have lots of nice things in store for Ganjitsu, or new year so wait for that one. Hmmm… During the new year what's the rhythm of the tolling bell?

A lemon for this fic was created for my friend Nonny. Since FF.N is a strictly non-lemon site and I am… not quite sure if I want it posted since I NEVER write lemons… (what's the definition of never again? grin) it's going to be… somewhere else.

Grammatical corrections, and anything relating to flow etc etc are taken note of and corrected ASAP, even if they're not uploaded swiftly.

New scenes in this chapter were the 'beach' scene, and thankfully, last May and October we went to the beach where I promptly got experience.

I hate new characters and Ifuku and Sohin popping up simply wasn't something I wanted to do. But well they evolved completely out of my hands. There. I think this will be one of the last times we'll be visiting the past for Ranma and Nabiki. We're moving forward now.

Suggestions and comments welcome. Especially on the note of: who do you want Nabiki to end up with? Bwahahaha. OH, and my sister commented initially that the way Nabiki was acting during the pregnancy phase seemed to much like Akane. I was thinking, they're SISTERS they shouldn't be far off the mark, but then this is an AU and my mind just tied itself into a knot.

See you guys in the next installment. (Gah I wish my new year chapter coincides with NEW YEAR)!

iCe

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**website: **ice _dot _esmartdesign _dot _com  
**email**: siuane _at_ gmail _dot_ com  
**livejournal**: ice _underscore_ of _underscore _dreams

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I write when the spirit moves, and I make sure it moves every day.  
unknown 


	16. Part 15: December to January

05/12/06 - minor corrections  
01/02/06** – **release date

**

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**

**Special Thanks to:  
**Tin  
Jourdan Bickham  
Roja Cyd  
Bubbly Minx, Sakk and Kinai  
Howard Russel

And to the person reading this.

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**Little note before you start anything: **

Some mention of sex and seduction but that's it. If you're below 13 it's not advisable.

* * *

In the end,  
After hatred has grown drowsy,  
And all the killers have gone to bed,  
We will have simple things again.  
We will walk through fields of corn  
Taller than our heads.  
_A New Beginning  
_**Robert Coles **

**

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**

**Rendezvous with Fate v.3  
**by iCe  
Chapter 15

_... Sometimes, I get frustrated at the way everyone treats me and then suddenly, I realize, they're frustrated too. Because I confuse them, because they were supposed to hate me but I grew on them... _

* * *

There were very few things that a ruler could do to ascertain their people's happiness. Build roads, protect them from bandits and thieves, build irrigation systems, maintain the dams, have a reserve for food and lower the taxes. 

Since the Saotome liege has ruled for more than a hundred years, it assured a stable fiefdom. It's the reason why Ranma didn't have to do much work when Sagami was handed down to him. His main work was to protect his citizens from attacks of any nature.

However, it was customary that once a month gates were opened to listen to complaints. It was a formal affair where everyone bowed low. He got to sit on a high chair and wore the full Saotome attire. By its end he was usually so worn out that he wanted to do nothing else but soak in the furo.

Today, Nabiki caught him as soon as it ended. He was drenched fully in the Jusenkyo curse because he tripped into one of the bowls of water handed to him for drink and it incurred the change. Ranma was thankful that the incident happened when he closed the shoji of the receiving rooms towards the corridors of his suite.

Nabiki gave him a small smile and handed him the provincial budget. Ranma looked at it over slowly while they walked towards his room. "I shouldn't be depending on you too much, Nabiki."

"You know, the reason why I'm here and why I handle this is that you trust me," Nabiki answered rolling her eyes. "What brought this on? Is this about that idiot Ryu again? You hardly talk about these things unless it bothers you."

Stepping into his room, Ranma-chan took out his hanko, inked it in red to stamp the documents and then handed the newly signed papers to her. In the years that she was with the Ikkaseis he managed Sagami by himself. However, when Nabiki came back, it was obvious that she would wallow in depression if she wasn't given a diversion, which brought them to their current situation.

Ranma went towards his small closet and kept the hanko and ink again then they proceeded to walk towards the kitchen. "You know Nabiki, sometimes I think I rob you of a life."

Nabiki made a face. She had always hated the subject, and didn't like it brought up between the two of them. "You just outshine everyone's vitality that you think you sap mine away. You're planning to use the brazier?" Ranma gave her an exasperated glare, both at the abrupt change of the subject and for the question. "Well... I thought so... but you're not getting hot water from there."

Ranma continued searching for the kettle when Nabiki's words registered. She turned around slowly and crossed her arms in front of her. "You mean to tell me, that the **only** source of heat in this house is not functioning?" Nabiki nodded as she pointed to it.

Abandoning her search for the kettle, Ranma hovered over the blackened brazier and grimaced at it Noticing that the kitchen was worse for wear donning black smudges all over he briefly wondered what type of torture was inflicted on the household item. "No... no, no, no." Ranma leveled a fist at the heater. "Please tell me the one at the tea house works."

"**That's** the one at the tea house," Nabiki informed him levelly and then pointed to a larger stone fireplace by the corner of the kitchen. "**That's** the usual one."

"**What** happened here?" Ranma demanded as he kicked the useless stone on the side until it relented to him and gave a satisfying click. "I'm not taking a shrug for an answer."

"Your wife tried to boil water." Nabiki smirked at the expression on her brother -- now sister's face. "I told you she was trouble, but would you listen? She just had to blow the kitchen up before New Year. Great. Just Great. I'm just happy I'm a woman."

"Right." Ranma-chan finally gave up as she sat down at the cushion opposite the one his sister had taken. "Just make sure you stay one. Jusenkyo's not a polite curse you know. It rears its ugly head when it pleases."

"You had to say it out loud," Nabiki complained, a sense of dread washing over her. As if Ranma speaking about water would make it appear suddenly. She knew it was silly, but then a little silliness was always welcome. "At least it's not snowing, and you know how cold it is up here."

"Yeah, but I'd really hate to think of the cold baths," Ranma reminded her, shivering lightly at the thought. Ranma sighed resignedly. "I'll get someone to fix it later."

"Hmmm... I have an interesting thought for you though." Nabiki smiled as she steepled her fingers together and leaned her head down on it, waiting for Ranma-chan to look up to her. When she did, Nabiki's smile grew wider. "You haven't slept as 'Ranko' in a while, have you?"

"No... not since..." Ranma-chan straightened up trying to think of the last time he had done so, his memory was not always good when it included things she didn't deem important.

When it seemed like Ranma wasn't going to remember, Nabiki took glee in reminding her of the incident, "Not since she walked in on us in the bath, right?" Her expression turned into amusement as Ranma finally recalled what happened months ago.

"She thought that I--" It was followed by a moment filled with stuttering that finally led to Ranma's embarrassed silence.

"That you?" Nabiki prodded her to go on.

Ranma glared at Nabiki who was obviously taking immense pleasure at his discomfort. "You know perfectly well what she thought. You were the one who supplied the idea in the first place. So what's the point of this, and I'm sure it has, or you won't be bringing it up."

Shaking her head, Nabiki laughed. Ranma was still as dense as he was fifteen years ago. He still remained a good target for teasing. Nabiki lowered her voice conspiringly as she brought her head closer to Ranma's. "I remember a certain pledge about sleeping in someone's room..."

Ranma-chan's eyes grew wide, then shook her head and waved her hands in the process. "Oh no, Nabiki, she released me from that thing already. I'm not sleeping in her room anymore..."

"She didn't **say** she released you, Ranma-kun," Nabiki said in the soft tone of mockery that was common with her. She straightened her kimono as she stood up. "She said 'You could sleep with Ranko already'. That's not exactly, 'You can sleep in your room now.'"

"But -- I -- what?" Ranma-chan stuttered. Ever since the incident from Yokohama he has barely talked to Akane. Their longest conversation to date has been their little walk around the marketplace. Their meetings have always been tense and since he wasn't a fan of tension, he avoided his wife.

"Very articulately put, Ranchan." Nabiki shook her head, her hand upon the shoji then asked in Chinese, "_What I would like to know is: what have you been doing to keep your wife? It's been almost a month since she's made her divorce declaration and you haven't made enough **progress** with her to warrant her stay. You **have** made your mind to keep her, haven't you, sister?_"

There was an indignant sound that came from Ranma-chan, and Nabiki wasn't sure if it was because she had referred to what he had said or that she just called him sister. "You make her sound like a stray animal."

Nabiki ignored the comment. "You know, the perfect way to keep her is to sleep with her." Nabiki commented offhandedly, and she watched Ranma's expressions keenly. The words didn't shock her enough, so she called it bluntly, "Seduce her."

"You have **got** to be joking," Ranma deadpanned. "I'd sooner lock myself up in a pit of cats. At least they'll just tear me into pieces."

Nabiki gave her a chuckle as she slid the door open, and continued to address him in Chinese, "_Riight. She's leaving by end of the year that's barely a week from now, Ranma. Face facts. How can you make her stay?_"

"That **is** what you'd suggest. I should have known. I was crazy for thinking you would help me," Ranma-chan muttered motioning down to herself. "Do you see a man in the room Nabiki? I sure don't, and that brazier won't be fixed until tomorrow."

"You have no imagination, brother." Nabiki laughed at Ranma-chan's shocked look, telling Nabiki that she understood the suggestion. "It's not unusual for a girl and another girl to be thrashing in the hay. Some liege lords get off by watching two courtesans--"

"**Don't** go there," Ranma-chan said already turning green at the suggestion. Nabiki has always known that Ranma didn't like the idea of sex with her female body, although Ranma exploited it often, she never went beyond stripping. "I'm not sleeping **there** of all places. I have my own room and I plan to use it."

"_You said you wanted to keep her Ranma. What do you want to do after that? You're **married** to her,_" Nabiki emphasized the point by slamming her hand against the doorway. "_You're bound to hit the proverbial hay **sometime**. Now is just a good time as any._"

"I just don't want to do it **now**," Ranma-chan said exasperatedly, "It sounds so... fake, dishonorable."

"And that sounds like an excuse." Nabiki sighed and shook her head, while giving Ranma-chan a look that said she did not approve. "_Why keep her here if you don't want to do **anything** at all. Exert more effort. I'm not saying you should do it tonight just that you promised to sleep in her room._"

"I just don't want to push something that I'm not sure **she** wants," Ranma muttered. "Sleeping in the same room won't solve anything."

"Good lord. Sleeping in the same room doesn't constitute sleeping **with** her automatically you know. Besides, you'd go back on your **word**?" Nabiki asked a light note in her voice as she stepped out of the small kitchen.

"God, Ranma. What do you think you guys are?" Nabiki asked pointedly. "You're **married**. If that doesn't signify something then you can look at her marriage comb. Married people do these things to produce legitimate heirs. What do you want to do after you keep her? Play tag?"

Ranma opened his mouth but wisely decided not to say anything.

"You better not be keeping her for your pride" The door slammed shut behind her.

Ranma groaned.

"This is **not** happening to me." She banged her head on the wooden table repetitively.

* * *

Ranma-chan stood in front of Akane's door wearily. Trust Nabiki to get him to do something he had never thought he would do willingly. She raised her hand to knock for the fifth time, but let it fall helplessly on her sides again. 

There were a lot of worse places to be, but tonight Ranma couldn't have named one. He had pride, and pride wasn't allowing him to tell himself he was wrong about her.

Maybe he was. Maybe they all were. Nabiki seemed set on the idea that he liked Akane already. Akane did not know it but she already had a fierce protector with his sister.

"What had I been thinking when I asked Nabiki to help?" Ranma muttered the thought to himself again. Besides, was it really what he wanted, to keep Akane in the house?

Any further questions were interrupted when Akane had opened the shoji and promptly ran into him. Ranma sidestepped and caught Akane before she stumbled and fell into the ground. "So... where are you going in a hurry?"

"Oh! Ran -- ma," Akane said a little breathless. The pause before the second syllable did not go undetected either. "I was trying to look at something over the ledge, and I kinda dropped this thing... and I didn't want to lose it."

"What is it?" Ranma asked as he pulled Akane back into the room and peered over the edge of her window, trying to spot what she dropped.

"Nothing really, just a small ring I found lying around and I ..." Akane trailed off as she watched Ranma jump out of her window, only to return a few seconds later with the ring on her hand. "... didn't want to lose it."

Ranma flicked the ring in her direction. The arc glittered in the air before Akane caught it with her right hand. "Nice catch."

Akane smiled at the compliment and closed her door to her room. Bringing it against the light, she peered at the ring. "Thank you for getting it. It's an exquisite design. The carving is marvelous, with great detail. I would love to have seen how the craftsman carved it on the inside of such a small band."

"Ask Nabiki," Ranma murmured. It was Nabiki's wedding gift to Kodachi. She tried to find the best carver in Kamakura to make that ring. Kodachi never wore it. "She probably got the materials from China."

Slowly, Akane brought the ring down and placed it on the table, where a lot of other trinkets were littered about. It looked like she was rooting through all of Kodachi's older accessories. "So... what brings you here? I doubt it's because of my ring."

"Nabiki reminded me of a little promise I had..." Ranma-chan leaned against the windowsill as she watched Akane put all of Kodachi's charms in a small lacquered jewelry box.

Akane leaned forward to smell the box before she turned to Ranma. "I'm sorry, I just had to do that, out of all of Koda-- **my** things, it seems that she puts extra care to this one. It smells so nice." She picked up the box to replace it among her clothes, then remembering what Ranma said, she turned back to her. "What promise?"

"The one that says..." Ranma-chan coughed a little before she continued, "I have to sleep in this room."

Akane frowned. "Oh... **that**... but I thought I already let that pass."

"You thought wrong," Ranma answered looking at Akane. "I'm still under that oath as much as I hate to admit it."

"It's okay. You don't need to. Not anymore." Guilt was a something hard to get rid of. So was pride, and both were playing with Ranma with his decision to stay. When Ranma didn't say anything Akane shifted uncomfortably. "Honestly, you're the most stubborn person I know. Why now?"

Ranma took his time answering -- slowly looking at Akane for a few minutes. "Because now is the only time I have the need to."

* * *

Gosunkugi didn't give the Tendo samurai guarding the doors a second glance as he strode towards the eta hut that they converted to become their hideout. The samurai gave him stern gazes but let him pass because of Lady Chisei's agreement with Kodachi. Upon his entrance, he quickly shut the door and looked at their prisoners. 

Kodachi used three things to restrain them: chains, the prison that held them in their place, Ifuku's state of weakness and her knowledge of Ifuku's sustenance. Because of this, even though escape was more than feasible, Sohin and Omokage were not willing to do so.

Gosunkugi stepped about the room, more than aware of the dead Tendo samurai that Kodachi left rotting on the side. He involuntarily scrunched his nose from the smell and looked at the three prisoners. He set down the food he brought specifically for them and placed it on the floor. Sohin was fast to snatch it, for they had learned that the cats never hesitated over the food that was given.

Omokage raised Ifuku above the small pillow on which she was laid. Kodachi was treating Ifuku, but not enough for her to regain her strength. Kodachi kept her weak, but more important, alive.

As usual Gosunkugi paid no attention to this but set off to catch another cat. A routine which usually ended up an hour inside the small house with Gosunkugi covered with scratches.

Sohin suppressed a shout as he raised Ifuku's soup bowl while three cats and Gosunkugi dashed past them, Omokage helped Ifuku straighten up then cast a wary look at Gosunkugi. "You'd think you'd learn after a while what **not** to do when catching a cat." There was an obvious reprimand in his voice and a patronizing look that was lost on Gosunkugi.

Gosunkugi promptly ignored them, managing to almost topple the bowl in Sohin's hand this time. Annoyed at the prospect of having to dance around Gosunkugi and the cats Sohin addressed him, "I'll make you a deal, Gosunkugi. I'll catch your cat for you, just get the hell out of here." Sohin tipped the bowl of soup towards Ifuku's lips which she drank with some effort.

Sohin's words took a while for Gosunkugi to understand, but Gosunkugi finally stopped running around and looked at the three of them thoughtfully. "What does that give you?"

"Peace of mind," Sohin answered as he put down the bowl across his lap and with his other hand raised a cup of water for Ifuku to drink. "We're already living in a pigsty here. I'd rather not start with another kitten fight with us in the middle."

Considering Sohin's words for a minute, Gosunkugi nodded. "If you want to go to all that trouble, then fine." He stepped out of the way and closed the door behind him. "Get me a cat by noon, though."

Sohin shook his head as he turned towards Omokage. "Are you sure Lady Nabiki knows of the antidote for Ifuku?"

"If she does not then she will find it by midday, the lady is very resourceful," Omokage answered in defense of his mistress. He wiped a small cloth against Ifuku's forehead. "She has managed to keep us alive whenever Kodachi has kept us as tests for her new concoctions. I have utmost faith in my lady's ability."

Sohin nodded as the purple kitten jumped towards his arm while the rest of the cats settled around them. All of the cats acknowledged her as the strongest, and if there were such a thing as an alpha cat, they probably proclaimed Shampoo as an alpha. Sohin refrained from running his hand against Shampoo's back. He learned from experience that this particular cat didn't like the ministration. "I hope you're right on this one."

Omokage acknowledged the other man's worries as he stood up to go towards the doors shifting Ifuku so that she would eat comfortably without her leaning on his arm, but Sohin called to him to a stop. "Something has been bothering me Omokage-san." He paused for a while showing his uncertainty, but decided that his need to know was more important than the possibility of offending Omokage. "Why did you claim you were Tendo Eruchii?"

Omokage faced Sohin who had just forced some more of the soup through Ifuku's mouth. "If you knew I was lying, why are you calling me out now?"

"I thought it was foolish and irrational," Sohin said wiping the lukewarm soup that had spilled with a cloth. Any liquid that came through their doors were lukewarm at best and cold at worst, no one dared to bring them hot water for fear of Kodachi's wrath. "But I thought it was a way to save the Tendos. I am sorry that you had to be involved in our mess. You don't even know the person you're supposed to be, do you?"

"Tendo Eruchii?" There was silence, and Omokage shook his head. "No."

Sohin smoothed down Ifuku's hair and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. The cat jumped onto her arm and nestled on it then made room around her long hair which had come undone in the middle of their harassed transfer. Sohin straightened and stood up, looking at Omokage. "Do you wish to know who you impersonate, Omokage-san? Does it even matter to you who Tendo Eruchii is?"

There was determination in Omokage's voice, "No. It doesn't matter."

"Then why?"

If Omokage did not know Sohin's connection with Ifuku, he would have told the peasant to mind his own business. As it was, Omokage gave him the respect that was due to him because he was her husband.

"Because of who she is."

Sohin was tenacious in his questions and deeply protective of Ifuku. Curiosity glinted in his eyes. "And who is she?"

"She's a sister who would have died without her brother." Omokage shook his head then looked at Ifuku. "I did what most would have done."

"You risk your life for something you do not understand," the disapproval was thick in Sohin's voice. Sohin felt passionately about the Tendo's welfare as he felt passionately about Omokage's deceit. He may not approve of Omokage's ruse, but he had been more than willing to go along with it for the sake of the Tendos. Someone who was willing to do what must be done over what he wanted done, Omokage only found people like Sohin rarely. "You'd die for all the wrong reasons. You were just lucky that Kodachi did not know who the Tendo heir is, or you would have died on the spot. You would have died as someone who might be a coward unworthy of your protection. You throw your name aside so easily."

"I don't care who Eruchii is. I did not do it for him. What I did do was buy **us** time," Omokage argued, angered by Sohin's words, he took a step forward. "It's what anybody would have done in my place."

There was a challenge in Omokage's words and Sohin noted it with interest, an implied statement that Sohin should have taken up the Tendo name instead of him in the first place.

"It's more than what most would do for a servant," Sohin answered standing his ground. Omokage felt as if Sohin wanted to tell him more but he turned his back and took the Jusenkyo cursed kitten from Ifuku's shoulder. Striding past Omokage he rammed his fist through the door that kept them inside the house, as if the doors were heavy oak he pounded on them until someone answered.

"In knew she wasn't a servant when I offered myself," Omokage muttered.

Sohin gave him a warning glance before a Tendo samurai opened the door with a frown just as Sohin thrust the cat forward. "For the man who just walked out." The samurai eyed him for a moment then took the cat and shut the door unceremoniously.

"But you helped her long before you knew she wasn't. I know, she told me. A servant doesn't even deserve a samurai's time," Sohin muttered, as if the entire exchange was emphasis to his point, striding past Omokage again and moving towards Ifuku. Raising Ifuku's head again, he took the bowl of soup, protected in the circle of her hands and it was still half full. Ifuku gave a small moan of protest and Sohin gave her a pleading look. "Please, Ifuku. Take just a little more."

There was a small groan from her lips as her eyelids fluttered open. Just swallowing the viscous soup was a difficult ordeal. It was more displeasing because the soup was already cold. "Please, no more." Ifuku gave a small cough before she continued, "You enjoy torturing Omokage, Sohin. Will you tell him the truth?"

Omokage gave both of them a puzzled stare, this long in confinement, he thought he knew all there was to know about the husband and wife. Sohin frowned at her, displeasure showing. He touched Ifuku's cheek lightly and touched her features as if tracing them with his fingers. "You heard?"

She gave a small smile of acknowledgement then reached out for Sohin's hand, stilling it against her cheek. "I am sick Sohin not deaf, nor am I unconscious. I am not even delirious right now." She smiled weakly when she noticed his irritated glare. "I fear that the time for running away has come to an end. The world is falling around us Sohin. Chisei will have --"

"No one," Omokage interrupted as he sat down beside her. "If Jusenkyo is true, then we can be free."

"Omokage, you don't understand." Ifuku looked at Omokage then at Sohin and tried to sit down but couldn't. Her current strength would not allow her more than this solemn act of defiance against Sohin. "Sohin, will you tell him the truth?"

Sohin gripped Ifuku's hand tighter to reassure her that everything was going to be okay and to reassure himself that she was still strong enough to live. "Only if we must."

"If we are to die, I don't want him dead not knowing anything," Ifuku said softly. She turned Sohin's head to face her. "Tell him, Sohin."

"I promise," Sohin whispered. Ifuku nodded and rested her head against the makeshift pillow. Her exhaustion getting the better of her, her message delivered.

"What is it you're keeping from me?" Omokage demanded.

"I told her that I will tell you in time. I promised no more than that." Sohin gently released Ifuku's hand. "I don't want to tell you secrets that would only draw you nearer to our trouble."

"If you haven't noticed, I'm already in too deep in your problems, whether you tell me or not. What will make you realize that I don't regret what I did?" Omokage whispered harshly. "I will not regret it because I --" He trailed off suddenly realizing what he was saying, suddenly realizing who he was talking to.

Sohin stared at Omokage then slowly nodded, finally understanding the motivations the samurai had. Omokage did not know if it was because he liked what he heard or because of pure naiveté. Sohin didn't seem angry over what Omokage had alluded towards, but instead there was a look of relief, like a big weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "I see. Now I understand. Does she feel the same way Omokage-san?"

Omokage walked towards the far corner of the room, waved the cats away and sat there, not answering Sohin's gibe.

"I'm sorry that you're here," Sohin said in earnest as he turned towards Ifuku again. "Your presence is unnecessary, and I will try to keep you alive as long as I could. **That** is my promise to you."

"You insult my skill if you think I need protection of a mere peasant to live," Omokage's voice rose with anger. Indignant as only a Saotome samurai could be regarding their skill as samurai.

Sohin smiled at Omokage's words as he sat down, his hand reaching for Ifuku's. "Perhaps. But as Ifuku has said, you know nothing of the truth Omokage, and what truth you know, may in fact be just a skewed truth of what was once a lie." The smile that was perpetually on his face was unnerving. "Whether you need my protection or not is irrelevant. I live to serve the Tendos. As long as you are Eruchii Tendo, I would die for your sake."

* * *

Nabiki eyed the arrangements made for the New Year that they have been making for the past few days. From the way things were messed up she was sure Akane had been through the arrangements and offered her help. All the Shimenawa, braids of sacred rope, were done poorly. Mess was everywhere and the designs all skewed. She was going to have to warn the maids never to take Akane in for help again or they would never get the preparations for New Year finished. She didn't know if they could take a few more days of Akane's help. 

"_Ranma, please just take her away. I can't believe I have to redo all of the New Year cards she made. Take her away **before** she offers help in preparing the Osechi Ryori,_" Nabiki begged in Chinese as she eyed the remaining materials left, which was to say not much. The Osechi Ryori was the special food eaten in New Year, and they all knew how good Akane was in the kitchen. "_And if she helps with the cooking I swear I'm going to let **you** eat every thing she stirs._"

Ranma gulped, understanding that Nabiki would do well on her threat and took Akane by the arm. "Come on now Akane, I want to show you something."

"But --" She looked at the unfinished straw clasped on her hands and frowned, obviously enjoying herself. "I really, really, really want to do something useful."

"Come on I'm going to show you how to..." Ranma searched wildly around for something that would pique her interest more than the common household task that she was currently destroying. "Uh, show you how to uh..."

"_How to control her chi,_" Nabiki suggested again in Chinese, looking at Ranma meaningfully. "_Weren't you dear brother? You're supposed to train her, you idiot. Not pass her to me._"

"Control your chi," Ranma blurted out, grasping the first suggestion than hang with nothing and glared at Nabiki. It wasn't on his agenda but it was better to start with her lessons now.

"But I already asked someone else to help me with it," Akane said, a little bit hesitant over the offer. The arrangements for New Year had her transfixed. Kasumi usually arranged for the festivities. She had never been given the chance to just help out.

"Go on, Lady Kodachi. Ranma is a much better tutor than anyone you could ask for right now," Nabiki urged, eager for her to get out of the kitchen and for her brother to take on the responsibility of teaching the skill.

It didn't take much convincing to get her excited. There were only a few things that held her attention, and martial arts was on top of the list. Akane's eyes lit up. "Really?" She almost squealed with delight then turned to Ranma for confirmation. "Would you? I've always wanted to learn how to control chi. I've been able to tap it sometimes but not explicitly wield it." Ranma gave Nabiki another glare, but Nabiki just smiled. "_She needs to know how to control that wild chi, and besides, I do not want mother to come here with a wreck of the house. Either you teach her chi or keep her occupied some other way._"

"I hate it when you do that," Akane complained, referring to the way they talked to each other and blocked her out completely. "Well, are you teaching me? Unless you're willing to teach me Chinese."

"Oookay," Ranma answered resignedly as he pulled her towards the door. "_This ain't going to be pretty._"

-

Ranma stared thoughtfully as his new pupil and frowned. In the best of days, he was not the most patient of teachers. Though he enjoyed teaching the art, there was nothing more frustrating than trying to get someone to learn something that he himself had learned in a fraction of the time.

Training had always been a strict regimen of crazy stunts, intense rivalry and death threats. Something which the other Saotome children were probably experiencing or have already experienced in their lifetime.

Unfortunately, from what Ranma could gather from Akane, she looked like the type who fought for sport rather than for life, which would almost guarantee that she would die on her first real battle with someone out for blood.

'I knew I shouldn't have taken this from Genma.' Ranma thought as he watched her jog across the sand in the straw slippers that were made in abundance for training instead of the heavy and noisy geta. She was probably the most graceless person he knew. While she jogged just above the shoreline, she managed to dig in the slippers into the sand and as soon as the slippers connected to her heel, scooped up the powder and threw it all over her back making her originally pristine white gi flecked with the grayish grains.

"Take off your slippers," Ranma ordered as soon as she stopped to dust herself. She complied without a word, which suited Ranma. It seemed that even though Akane was willing to be combative in everything else, with regard to martial arts training she deferred to his words.

Now if he could just think of what to teach her.

The sand was scorching at this time of the morning, already heated by the sun's rays, the water unnaturally warm against the cool breeze since it flowed in from the east where the sun had been out earlier than in Kamakura.

"You know..." Ranma trailed off as he looked at her daintily setting the straw slippers aside. "I've never actually taught an advanced move when it wasn't needed. Just as I've never been taught anything until absolutely necessary. The Hiryuu Shoten Ha was a direct consequence of the weakening moxa Happosai graded me once, the Roasting Chestnuts because of that entire thing with the Cat's Tongue pressure point... so I don't really know what to teach you..."

Akane paused and then smiled up as she shielded her eyes from the sun. "A classroom by experience huh?"

Ranma moved uneasily, unsure of how to respond to that. A teacher was imperative in the basics, but as a student grew older and their adaptivity to fights grew, it is the measure of their skill to see what moves they would learn and what they would use. Later on, teachers would be there to guide, but there never was an instance that he had to be told **everything** he had to do.

She did show a wide array of some moves that were unmistakably more for the advanced levels of Musabetsu Kakuto, but it was dulled, the kill was taken out of it. Her most promising move seemed to be that one and only chi attack she had and even that was far from exemplary. "How well do you do that Mountain Storm move of yours, Akane?"

"Not at will and not all the time. Maybe in times of desperation I could actually perfect it." She paused as she walked towards the receding tide. "I failed to clip you with it remember?"

"Was that the last move that you were going to try on me?"

"It was a desperation move. Of course I was going to try it on last," she answered irritably waving her hands as if to dismiss the question. "An ace by definition is kept at the end of the battle."

'At least she doesn't have **that** particular bad habit.' Ranma thought as he followed her towards the shore. Some previous students used their strongest attack first, believing that it would end the fight sooner.

However, it was always necessary to conserve energy, hide your moves from your enemies and underplay abilities. If it was used first up and was totally demolished, not only would your own morale be down but there were a lot less options for attack. The opponent might not even be weakened enough for the attack to be effective. You use your most powerful move **after** you're sure that the opponent is weak enough for the move to have significant effects. Preferably knock out or maim, or kill... depending on what the fight was about. 'We'll just break her out of all the **other** bad habits that she has.'

"Akane, go through the motions of Mountain Storm again, I want to see how you do it," Ranma ordered as he sat down on one of the large boulders imbedded on the beach. He propped up one knee so his chin would rest against it as he looked at Akane. "We'll have to make your moves reproducible if they're to work."

"But I can't just will it to work," Akane answered as she stood there barefooted, the froth of the sea water at her feet. "I said it was a desperation move, and I rarely have use of it."

Ranma wondered for a time if inaugurating her was a useless process but dismissed it almost immediately. People who practice the art must be registered within the family roster. They needed to keep track of Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu. "You're in Saotome Territory, Akane. It's not a peaceful time. You're bound to be faced with a fight for your life sooner or later. You're just lucky someone has always been there to bail you out."

"Who asked you to save me?" Akane scoffed, Ranma could tell her pride was hurting. "I could take care of myself. I don't need you around."

Ranma knew how to pick his fights. Knowing that he was going to lose this fight if he started competing with her by words, and he wouldn't accomplish anything today if they continued on their current vein, Ranma went for his only other option. He sprung from the rock and attacked her suddenly. She responded with an equal block. "Good, now do the motions of Mountain Storm."

* * *

"What do you mean the kitten is gone!" Kodachi shouted as she entered the room. She pointed her finger at the three of them. There was murder in her eyes. "I just know the three of you have something to do with this! That was an important tool." 

"It was a **cat**!" Gosunkugi answered, not really understanding why Kodachi was having the whole place in an uproar because of a single animal. "She was the first one I got a hold of today."

Taking her ribbon from her robes Kodachi flicked it at Gosunkugi's direction. It didn't hit him, but he flinched. Whatever he was about to say next was left unsaid. "You fool, that wasn't **just** a cat. That was Shampoo."

Gosunkugi made the mistake of asking her again. "What has hair-care products got to do with anything?" This time, the ribbon was much more accurate. It hit him on the stomach. Gosunkugi doubled over in pain.

"Why must I be surrounded by imbeciles?" She turned to one of Chisei's samurai. "This place is compromised. Get them out of here. I want them in another location and quickly. All the cats here are to be freed near Rose Brier."

"What you have set loose was not a cat but a girl - a female Amazon that goes by the name Shampoo." She glared at the samurai who already started moving about the eta house.

Sohin was shoved out of the door with two samurai guarding him, as was Omokage and Ifuku. Kodachi stopped the samurai holding Omokage. "Your precious sister is still under my poison. If you escape, I'll stop treating her entirely. But just to be safe..."

Kodachi walked up to Ifuku slowly brandishing a black rose from her hair. She took Ifuku's arm and pricked her with one of the thorns, then placed the rose on Ifuku's kimono. She turned around and smiled at the two men. "I've given her another dose of my poison. This one is more lethal. If she doesn't get my antidote every thirty minutes she will die."

She walked away. "Even if you plan to go to some doctor, she will not survive the thirty minute lag. Can you reach anyone knowledgeable within thirty minutes, every thirty minutes?"

Sohin tried to get to Ifuku's side, but the samurai were strong, and he was weakened by the days he was held a prisoner. "What do you want from us? Why are you selling us off to Chisei?"

"Bringing Saotome Ranma down needs a few things: A liege lord's backing, a good head for planning and money." Kodachi laughed then shook her head. "Unfortunately, the man who funds me does not recognize me in this body. Some Tendo samurai **tried** to kill me though. One thing led to the other, and you are the things that would keep me having manpower and money."

"What makes you think Lady Tendo won't double cross you?" Omokage shouted as she exited the room.

"Because, my dearest Tendo heir, I'm not handing the three of you over until Ranma Saotome has fallen."

* * *

Akane's hands on were immediately her hips as she tried to get up from the sand, exhausted from having repeated the motions of mountain storm for more times than she could remember, angry that she'd fallen more times than her body could bruise. "I **can't** control my chi. You just wanted me out of the house so I couldn't ruin your precious preparations." 

"Oh come on." Ranma groaned as he followed her trudging through the trees. Although what she said was correct, it was still his job to make her learn to control that damned chi of hers. "You believe I wasted the entire afternoon of my life teaching you something you can't do? That's stupid."

"Well, I can't seem to do it now, can I?" Akane answered stubbornly as she made her way through. It was obvious that she was not heading for the house, and her erratic path suggested that she didn't know where she was going either.

Ranma grabbed her hand to stop her, racking his brains for something that would stop her from going back to the house or sparing her feelings. " Cologne once told me that within every person is the inherent ability to connect with the spirit. It just takes longer with most than others."

"So I'm one of the longer ones." Akane smiled impishly, already forgetting her earlier defeat. "I can manage that."

Happy that he managed to say something to make her smile Ranma pulled her closer and tugged her along the pathways. He grinned at her as he brought her towards the cliff-side that faced the house, cut sharply from the rest of Rose Brier's space because of a deep chasm. "Rose Brier is on an extension of this cliff. It's the highest point in town. A few years ago, the path between Rose Brier and this part of the cliff was cut off by an earthquake. Jumping from here is the only way to get on top now. Do you usually jog up here?" Ranma asked inquisitively as he tugged her on.

"I never ventured out this far." Akane pointed a slender finger towards the direction of the house as she shielded her eyes from the sun's descending rays. The sky was still the deep aqua color but the sun was already showing a burnished red, preparing to retire in the horizon. "I usually jog towards the other direction."

"You haven't discovered it then?" Ranma smiled mysteriously as he offered her his hand. "It's almost time to start."

Akane looked at his hand, and then at his face, it seemed that he really was offering it in earnest. She took hold of his hand, and in a moment, she was on his arms being lifted through the air. Before she could protest, he had flipped her easily in his arms, cradled her, rebounded off the sand, jumped across a couple of trees and landed gracefully on top of the tall tree standing majestically against the cliff-side. And it was over all at once, as he set her down.

She looked around and realized that they already were on top of the cliff. How many jumps had he made? Two? One? She could not recall. She peered over the ledge. She could not have done it in less than five, and she probably would have scrambled on top of the rocks.

She groped for its trunk for balance, but he took her hand in his just as she peered over the edge to see the crashing waves below. She gulped visibly, but he had her hand grasped firmly against his own that she doubted her fall. When she grew accustomed to the branch that they were standing on she gazed at the open sea and smiled.

She was out on the beach rarely, especially since she didn't know how to swim so she had not fully appreciated the view. Out there in the open, you could see the sea change colors from the lightest of aqua to the deepest of blue depending on the water's depths. The entire horizon spread before her, and the far away island of Izu showed. But this beach held no sunsets because they were facing the east well towards the Pacific.

Even though there was no sun to set in this beach the sky's colors were vivid and she cried in delight as she watched it change the hues of the sky from blue to a deep orange. "This is a wonderful view."

He grinned at her mischievously turning her around to face the west where the town lay. She maneuvered around the branch, but though it swayed, it held both of them securely. When she had turned around, she leaned against him while shielding her eyes from the sun's descent. "If you think that's wonderful. I want to know what you think about this." He said. His voice had suddenly dropped to a whisper, his breath close to her ear.

Akane frowned as she looked at the city, and the cliff gave the full scope of the town right to the very borders, but it didn't look any different from the view on top of a high building or a tall tree. "What's so special?"

Instead of speaking, he touched her shoulder briefly and pointed to a pool of water closest to the west. The rays of the sun were casting an orange color across of it gently. When it enveloped the entire pool the sun's rays seemed to bounce off and complete another arc, only to be accepted by another pool in the distance... and then another... until it completed an entire circuit of five pools.

" Kamakura's famous five waters is seen at its best from a distance, and when the sun is about to set," Ranma whispered. The ray of light started to move faster, now that the sun was lending its light to all pools. The sun's descending rays glinted off the five pools producing a clear shaft of light that seemed to jump from one pool to the other imitating a serpent or a dragon moving sinuously from one body of water to the next. "Some people say this can be seen in the Kanto Mountain. Others just say that this is only holds true for this cliff. So, what do you think of this?"

Akane held her hair back as the sea breeze tried to blow it on her face. She watched the play as the sun faded into the mountains. It left the serpent, emphasized by the darkness, jumping towards the five pools before slowing down, shimmering one last time before dipping it's proud and majestic head fully on its last spring, disappearing completely as the last rays were swallowed by the dusk. "Words... fail me," she said in a low voice. It was as if anything louder would spoil the moment. It took a while for her to avert her eyes even though the image already faded. "How?"

"Nabiki told me once that at sunset the angle of the rays that the sun was giving off was just right to bounce off the pools. She said the pools were a perfect parabola acting as a mirror and taking the light at its focus or something. I didn't understand much after that. Some say it's magic. Others say it's our minds playing tricks on us." Ranma shrugged and turned to face Akane. "Me? I say it's whatever you want to believe. Sometimes the beauty of memory is killed by an ugly fact."

It was difficult to leave his arms. There she could probably pretend that everything was all right between the two of them. "But which do you believe?"

"Is it really **that** important?" Ranma opened his mouth to say something more but shook his head. He jumped down from the rock face, slower this time because it was dark and he only had his memory to guide him.

He set her down gently on the sand. "You'd think there's an irony in me protecting something that has this much springs." He held a land famous for its **waters**. He'd probably kill the next person who named him Lord of the Waters.

"Are you all right now? Our little lesson might have left you a little dazed. I thought this was the best way to get you focused on the physical plane."

"Oh..." Akane trailed off again. "You took me here because of that?"

"If you're still receiving effects of the meditation exercises for the chi attacks a few stretches would also help." Ranma offered his hand to her again, just as he had before they had jumped up.

Akane sighed as she reached for him in the dark. She should have known not to expect anything out of the small interlude. Ranma hardly thought of her as someone to indulge his romantic side in, if he indeed had one.

* * *

After a few days of travel, Kikuko pondered over the maps silently while shaking her head every now and then. This was getting them nowhere and they were dangerously traveling since today was the last day of the month giving way to the New Year. The original plan had been for them to take the heirs, pay Kodachi and leave. It never occurred to her that Kodachi had more to her agenda than what she originally disclosed to Lady Chisei. 

Chisei made a mistake when she had brought up Kodachi on the offer. She shook her head again. This was dragging the Tendo name too far into the Saotome affairs. It would not bode well if it continued.

"Kikuko-san," Koji said softly. Kikuko turned, startled. The gentle giant spoke so rarely that she was quite astonished to hear him address her at all. He smiled at her then handed her another one of the samurai reports.

Kikuko the paper and set it beside the maps and continued to ponder the dilemma they were in. "She has quite a set up here. It's amazing how long she lasted without funding."

"There are some rumors I gathered from spies. We already know why her money stopped because of her talk with the prisoners." Koji supplied as he took a look at the maps with her and glanced at the red spots which indicated Kodachi's mercenaries and the blue spots which indicated Saotome samurai. The map would at least guarantee that they would not step into any unwanted samurai for the night.

Kodachi appeared to Kikuko as a proud woman - sure of her power and of everyone else's inferiority. Only a few things would move her to plot for someone else. "That is the only reason why she would work for the Tendos now, for money. She must want to destroy Ranma Saotome badly."

Koji nodded, the affairs of the Saotomes are not easily collected from outside Saotome territory. Apparently, it was different when they were inside it. The Saotomes were so confident in their ability to protect themselves that their tongues tended to be loose. "I knew we should have sent more spies into Saotome territory when we took up Lady Kodachi's offer."

"I know enough. She's been a little lax at her planning, especially since she likes sake. She talks when she's drunk." Koji snorted as he started to tell his mistress what he knew, "She pays mercenaries to attack the borders. But since her backing stopped, it has lightened up a bit. By the time the attacks had lightened every spare samurai was on the borders that she'd managed to torch both Yokohama and Nerima in one night."

"I find any employer who approves of fires irresponsible," Kikuko muttered waving her hand in dismissal when she spotted Kodachi. "Take the maps and help with guarding the Tendos." She looked at Kodachi with speculation. There was some unfinished business she had to attend to with that woman.

* * *

Everyone in the family was gathered on the porch that evening. They already finished eating, and Hanae was seated on Ranma's lap while Nabiki sat beside her son. Akane looked at the scene uneasily. If you didn't know Ranma and Nabiki were twins they looked like a family. Complete even without her. 

Ranma noticed her hovering over the porch, and he motioned for the platform beside him, rearranging Hanae so that Akane would be comfortable when they sat together.

Overhead a few of the fireworks were already glittering the night sky. Noise was abound everywhere as the peasants lit their fireworks to grace the dark night.

The fireworks would remain at a minimum before midnight since everyone wanted to hear the temple bells to toll. While they were waiting, the thick smoke of gunpowder curled along the gardens.

Akane wrinkled her nose and coughed a few times. When Ranma had noticed this, he handed her a handkerchief to press over her nose. It was already slightly damp from initial preparations so that the gunpowder wouldn't interfere with her breathing. She noticed that both Nabiki and Ranma weren't bothered by the thick smog, but when she was younger, her father always closed off one part of the Tendo dojo, sealed so that none of the gunpowder could reach it in their sleep.

"The Chinese traders have supplied us this year with fireworks in abundance," Nabiki murmured as one of the flowers blossomed in the sky, spreading its tendrils in sparkles, exploding little by little until it was awash with white sprinkles that looked like fireflies. "Those are expensive."

"Wipe that frown from your face Nabiki. You're spoiling the children's fun." Ranma laughed as both Hanae and Sei pointed out the fountains, the colors, the flittering twinkle of the fireworks. It pleased Akane to know that though most times they acted like little adults, they were still children.

Nabiki shrugged, it wasn't in her nature to let go of the expenses that befall them, but she took a small box beside her and opened it lifting it up to Sei for perusal. "Would you like to try sparklers?"

Just as she offered it, fireworks shot out of the other side of the backyard shooting like gunfire in the air, popping in the night sky. Both Hanae and Sei jumped down from the porch to look at Nabiki's offering before choosing two for themselves and leaning out on the koi fireworks on either hand.

Nabiki smiled as she followed them towards the pond, a small taper in her hands for the wicks of the fireworks, leaving both Ranma and Akane from a safe distance on the porch.

Akane looked at the garden, there were four samurai guarding the children. Less than the usual entourage when the entire family was out in the open and before she could comment on it, Ranma said, "Some of the samurai have been dispersed throughout the village. For the fires that might come up. There are areas for fireworks displays in a village of paper but there will always be accidents. We didn't want to forbid fireworks so soon after the Yokohama and Nerima incidents."

The show of lights was pretty. It was not as extraordinary as what you expected in the present, but when they glittered in the night sky, they approximated the stars.

When midnight struck, the first sound of the great temple bells, the Tsuri-Gane, was clear. The fireworks were mainly light shows and weren't noisy so the tolling echoed loudly across the village.

Akane leaned on Ranma's arm. He looked surprised at the gesture, but finally rested his arm around her waist. The clear sounds of the bell echoed through the night, clearing the last of Akane's sadness and giving her hope for the New Year.

A new beginning.

Listening to the bells was a solemn affair, making you feel closer to the gods themselves. If Akane was easily moved by such an emotion, tears would have sprung in her eyes. There was peace in listening to the tolling, a sense of home, a sense of belonging. She was here for a purpose and the bells reminded her of it.

She felt Ranma's whisper more than heard it, his breath stirring the sensitive hair just before her ear. She looked at him, and the movement of his hand drew her towards his clasped left hand. He brought it towards her eye level and slowly presenting what he held by loosening his fingers one by one until a comb remained nestled on his palm. It was new. It still bore the dragons that were carved in Kodachi's marital comb, but this one had them resting on a bed of clouds.

He slowly brought it up to her hair as the last of the one hundred eight tolls ended - one hundred eight tolls to purge the one hundred eight sins. He placed it on her hair almost reverently before pressing a soft kiss on her cheek. "Happy New Year, Lady Akane. I thought you would like a new marital comb since the last was filled with Kodachi's memories."

He has learned to speak as if she were two people when he chose it. Akane's hand reached up to touch the comb, but before she could touch it, Ranma's hand stopped her. "Kami-sama has already forgiven me, why can't you?"

Akane realized there was a touch of hurt in his expressive blue eyes because he thought she was going to remove it. She promptly tried to soothe his worries, "Ranma, I was merely going to look at it. Thank you."

He was going to say more, but the ending of the Joya-no-Kane, the midnight tolling of the temple bells, signaled for the rest of the nation to begin noisier fireworks. Baby rockets littered the sky, and a few of the light shows that were not yet finished as well as the fountains and explosive triangles.

Akane's eyes were drawn to the children who were still looking at their sparklers and at the fireworks. Nabiki either was too polite to ruin the moment or was having too much fun with the children to notice what passed between Ranma and Akane.

Nabiki rose slowly, kissing both children in the cheek, greeting them a happy New Year, before turning towards Ranma and Akane. She gave Ranma a similar kiss, inclining her head towards Akane. Akane respected the woman's distance as she murmured the greetings. Trust was difficult to come by with Nabiki, but the acknowledgement was enough.

"I have to fix things for mother. Preparations for the household cleaning must be made." Nodoka, as she was informed earlier, was going to come from the money washing shrine to spend her New Year with the family.

Ranma frowned at her words, not understanding why she insisted to follow tradition with cleaning the house. "You'd think after your run in with 'The Seven Lucky Gods' at Kirin's Tower your belief for susuhari would be diminished."

Traditionally, susuhari or soot-sweeping was done to cleanse the house to take away the stains, both physical and spiritual, of the previous year. "_You know how much taint your wife put on the house. She's better at it now, but I don't want to miss the clinging miasma from before the amnesia._ I can't have Sei growing up in a house without **tradition**, Ranma," Nabiki pointed out, half of her statement in Chinese because of Akane's presence. Customarily, after cleaning the house thoroughly on Japanese New Year, people prayed to the 'Shichi Fukujin', the Seven Lucky Gods.

"Tradition," Ranma muttered as Nabiki raised her eyebrow. He tightened his grip over Akane protectively at the mention of the taint but knew that Kodachi's previous influence did not bear defense. "Not when the seven lucky gods **happen** to have kidnapped you, almost killed me in the process and brings me around **China** just to rescue your hide."

"For your information, I didn't need rescuing," Nabiki taunted back. She gave him a small wave. Something which Akane never saw Nabiki do, they must both be growing comfortable with her presence if Nabiki could show this childish side of herself to Akane. "Much as I'd **like** to continue this little argument, it's wasting my precious time. Bai Lao!"

As Nabiki jumped off the distance Ranma shook his head. There goes one woman of his life. With his sister gone, he turned to focus at Akane, who was resting peacefully against his arms. Here was the second. "Whatever am I going to do with you, Akane?"

'All I ask is for your love.' But on some level, Akane understood he wasn't ready to hear that. She understood his level of commitment and that he was loyal to her and that maybe he could love her, but he wasn't ready to put them into words.

So she smiled and rested her cheek against his arm, feeling his warmth through the silk of his shirt. There was time enough for professions of love. It was the start of the year. There was time enough for anything.

* * *

Kodachi stared at the samurai she traveled with and her three prisoners. She needed a decision regarding the Tendos before anything else happened. She drew the cloak closer to herself as she felt the breeze. The travel had not been easy and it certainly had not been comfortable. 

'If only the old hag had not taken my marital comb.' Kodachi thought as she lifted a hand to her hair. Without her face, she cannot assure her benefactor of her identity, and without her identity, she lacked funding for her purpose.

She mentally cursed as another branch snagged her face. They had been forced to travel in the dark for security. Being spotted now would certainly ruin her plans. She reached for the small device she had arranged to measure the time, a slow burning bundle of hemp that she had pre-timed with the incense sticks. It told her the time without as much smoke and aroma as the incense sticks. It indicated she has some time left before she needed to administer Ifuku's medicine.

She gave a sideways glance to her patient slash prisoner. Although jostled and weary from the entire trip, Ifuku was still alive. That was all Kodachi was striving for. She turned to Chisei's right hand, Kikuko, and whispered, "I will need my money for my final plan by tomorrow."

Kikuko stared at Kodachi, distrust and suspicion showing in every line of her narrow face. Kodachi could already see her meticulously working out every detail of their plan, mentally checking it for flaws or holes.

When Kikuko finally nodded Kodachi almost let out her breath in relief. "I was instructed to give you half of what you had demanded when I was sure that you had what you promised to deliver. I will be out of your hair soon, Lady Saotome."

As a silent signal, Kikuko held her hand up and the samurai that had come with her stopped to rest Ifuku. They laid her on the ground with Sohin holding her for comfort. "You gamble with her life, Lady Saotome. You have already managed to let one of my own samurai die."

Kodachi shrugged as she took the short bamboo container they used for the medicine and forced enough of the liquid down Ifuku's throat. She coughed out some of it, but Kodachi was satisfied that enough had gone down. "I just wish to bring my husband down."

"So much drive to end his life," Kikuko commented as she stared into the woman's eyes. "I have not seen the Tendo heirs in person and you have killed the only one who has. I am not sure if Lady Chisei will even recognize them. How sure are you that who we have here is Lord Eruchii?"

"They gamble on her life if they tell lies," Kodachi said as she covered the makeshift tumbler again. The bamboo section had enough medicine to last them five more hours. Then they had to stop for her to administer full treatment. "We will reach my safe house in three sticks if we continue this way."

"Then we'll exchange goods there, Lady Saotome." Kikuko nodded to the other samurai who had been standing in watch of the perimeter. "Let us go, it's dangerous to stop in open land."

One of the samurai who brought the front whispered something in Kikuko's ear. She frowned immediately and turned to Kodachi one hand grabbing the woman's throat and the other reaching for her long sword. "We are dangerously close to Ranma Saotome's house, Lady Kodachi. Why have you told the samurai to lead us here?"

Kodachi's serene face stared at Kikuko's cold one. "Careful Tendo, I am the only one who can heal Shori." The samurai did not release her neck but Kodachi answered her, "The only place I know of is my laboratory under Rose Brier. Besides, I will waive half of my payment if we can kidnap the lady who has taken my face."

"There was no mention of this." Kikuko let the woman go and then turned to the two samurai who brought up the rear. "Hold your guards up men, we're entering Saotome household. I trust you have a plan to take this person?"

"So you will help me?"

"Don't delude yourself Lady Saotome, the only reason I do this is I cannot leave Saotome territory undetected without your knowledge," Kikuko said as her frown deepened. It would be difficult to sneak five samurai past the border control that the Saotomes erected since the ninja attacked their cities. With three prisoners it would be almost impossible to leave. "I would sooner commit seppuku than help you with whatever you are planning. But I feel you will not escort us if I will not assist you."

"I've always perceived you were sharp," Kodachi said, her hand itching to rub her neck for the feeling of the Kikuko's hand was still on it. She resisted the urge because of pride. "I'll tell you what to do once we've entered house."

"How do we enter this passage of yours?" Kikuko asked, her voice laden with doubt as she looked at the sky. "Dawn will be upon us in less than four sticks."

The fireworks forced them to stop at the relative safety of the trees. Not only did it light the beaches with their fire as a beacon, a stray explosive could have them injured. It delayed their trip more than both the Tendos and Kodachi liked. Kodachi motioned towards the white beach. "We'll take the path by the sea."

Outraged Kikuko shook her head. "But that would be in plain sight, the samurai would spot us even before we entered the periphery of your husband's property."

"The samurai are scattered in the forest. They expect attacks there," Kodachi informed them as she took a long stick and drew in the dirt. Kikuko leaned closer for a look, thankful that the light of the moon was filtering enough through the trees. "If we stay close enough to the trees yet close to the shore, we'll get to the cliff behind Rose Brier. There's an entrance there."

"Their blindside is the cliff?" Kikuko asked then slowly nodded her head.

"There would only be one or two samurai down in the beach, they would not expect attack in plain sight. I wish to evade them of course. The smaller the contact with them the least risk towards discovery," Kodachi explained fearing that Kikuko might not see the logic in her statement, "Because the previous attacks from the ninja were from the border and far from here, they really would not reinforce this area so much. There is a good chance of making it to the house undetected."

"Agreed." Kikuko stood up from the dirt and then turned to the samurai who was scouting ahead. "I will take your place. Lady Saotome, you are with me. Do not plan on betraying us, woman."

Kodachi gave the woman a complacent smile. "If I had planned on doing that, I would have done so already."

* * *

Akane stared out at the gaiety below them. It was New Year. People were flocking to Rose Brier to drop by a gift or a token of gratitude to the Saotomes for their continued protection of the lands. 

It was just dawn, and she had already counted at least twenty people go in and out of the gates. Akane was thankful the Saotomes didn't go around and try to celebrate **again**. Heaven knows they've had enough parties and celebrations to last them years.

After watching for a while, Akane closed the paper windows and stretched her muscles. It looked like she was not going to have her morning run outside. There were enough people as it was milling about for Ranma to get angry at her if she was seen. She greeted Sara good morning as the maid prepared her kimono for the day. "It's a fine day for New Year."

Sara nodded in compliance as she took a small towel from the alcove where Akane kept her things and smiled. "My lady, the people will be expecting Lady Saotome around."

The **family** was expecting her to be out on New Year, not just the people. It was tradition. Longing filled her heart for the family she would never see again. New Year was a special time for them, just as everybody else in the country. They ate all the wonderful food Kasumi made while sipping the o-toso, spiced sake, and watch Kasumi's children play with the kite and their tops.

Akane nodded as she went out for her morning bath. Turning slightly towards the maid behind her Akane asked, "Sara, does Ifuku usually stay out this long?"

There was a brief pause before the girl answered, "Well my lady, now that you've mentioned it... Ifuku never really leaves for more than a week. Two at most."

"I see..." Akane trailed off as she opened the doors leading to the bath. Although Sara was good company for her, Akane missed someone around her own age to talk to. Ifuku was someone who, from the start, knew **who** she was. Akane didn't really know if she should blame herself for letting her go. "Well, she must be enjoying her vacation. Thank you, Sara. You may go now."

"I haven't drawn the furo yet, my lady," the girl protested.

"It's okay, Sara, I'll manage."

The girl nodded her head demurely and then disappeared into the house.

Akane took off the ribbon binding her hair first and then stepped out of the night kimono. She had begun to lift her chemise when the soft rustling of the shoji from inside the bath house startled her. She turned towards the sound and called out, "Hanae? Is that you?"

Checking the changing area for clothes other than her own, she was puzzled to find none. Stepping slowly towards the shoji she slid it open and sighed at the empty space that greeted her.

When she turned around, a woman was holding a katana against her. "You're quite perceptive, Lady Saotome. I did not realize I made a sound." She inclined her head to one side, and someone took hold of Akane's hands from behind and clamped her mouth shut before she could scream. "Is there anyone near, Koji?"

"Not at the moment Kikuko-san." Koji frowned as he tried to hold Akane still while trying to silence her, "It's a bad time to do this. The area is filled with people. It's New Year."

"I don't need to be reminded," Kikuko snapped as she sheathed her long sword then took a look at Akane. Identifying her had not been difficult, Kodachi had pointed her out. One look at the woman's defiant eyes, and she knew that she was going to have a problem at her hands. "Quickly, before we are discovered."

Akane attempted to elbow her captor, but he was stronger than her. Kikuko smiled as she whipped out a long piece of cloth and gagged

Akane while her companion held her still. "Don't be foolish, Lady Saotome. You're just wasting your energy."

Akane answered Kikuko by slamming her head against the other woman's. She still hadn't devised a way to hit Koji yet when a shrill whistle from outside filtered through the shoji. Kikuko's head snapped up at the sound. "You --" Kukuko started to say something but stopped herself and settled for glaring at Akane. Akane thought Kikuko was ready to strangle her, but apparently she felt it was more urgent to leave. Kikuko turned to speak to Koji. "Faster, I don't want a fight."

The man nodded as Akane was half dragged and half carried into the bath house. Akane still couldn't understand how he was going to try to leave, but when he had pulled out a trap door against the tiles., Akane could only stare at the perfectly carved stairwell that was underneath.

Koji maneuvered her inside rather roughly as she bounced three steps below. Luckily, the stairs led to a landing before it went down again. Koji was behind her all the time and made sure she would not escape. Kikuko sealed the opening to guard the secret once more. The moment Kikuko brought the tiles down they were covered in complete darkness. Akane could hear their footsteps against the tile floor and to some extent the sounds that went on above.

"Lady Akane?" a woman's voice. Most probably Sara. "I forgot to bring your shampoo." Silence. "Lady Akane?" The rustle of shoji in the changing room. Akane marveled at the acoustics of the place, you could hear almost everything that happened directly above. "Lady Akane?"

Silence.

"They'll get suspicious soon," Kikuko muttered in the darkness. "How is your sight Koji? Can you find your way towards the right room?"

"There's more than one?" Koji asked sarcastically as he gripped Akane more tightly. "You lead the way, Kikuko-san. I have your charge with me, remember?"

There was a soft rustling sound as Kikuko rubbed her head. "How could I forget?"

-

Sara had worried when she didn't initially find her lady, and so began on a sweep of the entire house in search for her. After an hour or so with no positive results, Sara started to look for Ranma.

Since it was ganjitsu, the house was constantly filled with people coming and going. Because of this, she had trouble locating Ranma or Nabiki, who were both trying to accommodate their guests and making sure the rest of their normal duties were still attended to.

Finally she found Ranma sitting on the rooftop and staring at the land below. "Lord Ranma!" Sara called out as she waved her hand, not really knowing how to get to the roof yet still needing her lord's attention. Thankfully, her voice carried through the noise of Rose Brier. "Have you seen Lady Akane?"

Ranma looked startled. "Didn't you leave her in the bath house?" It looked like he had been up there since morning and was looking down on the estate. He probably set instructions for the samurai already.

Shaking her head Sara brought a hand to her moth, "She wasn't there when I returned, my lord. Didn't you see her leaving?"

Jumping down from his position, Ranma took hold of the scared woman, trying to both reassure her and himself in the process. "Get me ten samurai from their quarters. Tell them to meet me by the bath house."

"Is -- Is there something wrong, my lord?" Sara asked, her face already white with worry. "Should I tell Lady Nabiki --"

"No. I'll handle it. Akane probably just left out some other way," Ranma answered as he started towards the bathhouse. "Don't worry about it Sara."

When the maid had left him, Ranma sped up his pace. Nodding to the villagers that he met along the way, he swiped his hand across forehead when he reached the bathhouse.

He opened the doors to the changing room and then knocked against the ones that separated the changing room from the bathing area. "Akane?" he called out tentatively, his worry increasing by the minute.

When nobody had answered he opened the shoji and found no one in the changing room. He cursed at that turning to go. As he had ordered, Sara was already standing by the opening of the bath house with his requested samurai with her standing behind them.

The samurai stood in an orderly manner in front of him. "She likes the beach and the forest. Go and have men around the periphery of the property, I want two men each searching in all sides. Two men near the side with a cliff, two men by the bridge side, two men on the beach and the forest, two men on the side facing town and another two on the town itself."

Ranma paired them up and were designated. They nodded and were dispatched quickly. Looking around Ranma found Sara standing uneasily by the house and watching the meeting disperse. "Come here, Sara," Ranma said, not unkindly. The maid blushed at being summoned by her master, but training carried her feet forward.

"Now, tell me exactly what happened when you last saw your lady." Ranma looked at her expectantly.

Sara saw the Lady Nabiki approaching, and her large brown eyes widened in apprehension. Ranma realized that she feared Nabiki. It was a surprise that one living with them for so long could still hold such alarm... but then, Nabiki **was** an intimidating woman.

There was a prolonged silence as Nabiki joined them her eyebrows rising. "What is going on Ranma? You usually don't set off samurai without ample reason."

"That's what I was trying to find out," Ranma answered her then took a look at Sara. It wasn't going to be easy to question her with Nabiki around, but the two of them listening to her story would be better than if he would dissect it alone. "Sara?"

Sara seemed reluctant to speak but the silence finally won her over. "I brought her to the bath house, my lord. She told me she didn't need help with drawing the water, so I left. I forgot to give her something though, but when I had walked up to the bath house again, she wasn't there anymore."

"I saw that." Ranma frowned addressing Nabiki, "She wasn't gone long. I didn't see anyone enter or leave the bath house either."

Nabiki entered the bath house and noted some of Akane's clothes on one of the baskets for laundry. Ranma followed her inside as he ran his hand against the inner shoji. "_She said she'd give me until New Year... I didn't think she'd leave without a goodbye,_" he whispered in Chinese.

Raising an eyebrow at him, Nabiki motioned for Sara. "Did you leave your lady clothes, Sara? Or was she carrying any of the clothes?"

Sara raised her hand to her mouth. "No my lady, she lets me prepare her clothes... I forgot about that..." Nabiki thought as much. The girl was so forgetful that Nabiki wondered how she remembered where to sleep at night.

Nodding, Nabiki waved her hand for the servant to go and then turned towards Ranma. "Get your act together, brother, she hasn't left you... Not yet at least. I want your head to be clear and not filled with whatever it is filled with right now."

"I am thinking straight!" Ranma answered defensively as he moved to help Nabiki when she had begun opening the shoji inside the bath house and let the light filter into the normally dark room. "It's what she told Kuno remember? Until New Year."

Nabiki shook her head showing her disapproval towards Ranma's words as she placed her hands on her hips. "And that shows that you're not thinking. If you're over the self-pity, Ranma, I advise you to listen to me."

Whether or not Ranma took in Nabiki's words because he was slow to take in insults, or because he was only listening half-heartedly, Nabiki made it a point that he understood her next statement, "She wouldn't leave without anything on her but a small chemise. Besides she was really about to take a bath! She wouldn't have taken out most of her clothes if that wasn't her intention. Your 'new' wife isn't that clever." She sighed, then placed a comforting hand on Ranma's shoulder. "From what I've seen of Akane, I know she wouldn't leave without saying goodbye."

"Because she has no money to live alone?" Ranma asked despairingly.

Taking her time to answer, Nabiki said slowly with the comfort she wasn't known to give, "Because I believe she loves you."

"What you believe and what she feels might be two different things." There was cynicism in his voice that Nabiki hadn't known he possessed.

Nabiki took hold of Ranma's shoulders with both of her hands. "And if it is different, will you give up? Will you go and let her be kidnapped, captured or killed just because she doesn't feel the same way?"

"No -- I -- " whatever protest he had died on his lips as Nabiki cut him off.

"Then find her," Nabiki said in a tone that brooked no argument. "When you do, tell her what you feel, not what you think she wants to hear."

"She might not want to stay." Ranma thought that Nabiki was just doing this to cheer him up.

Nabiki thought he was wasting time arguing with her. "She might not want to leave." She tapped him on the back and pointed at the inner shoji that separated the bath house from the changing room. "The shoji is damaged in some parts. There are no other signs of struggle but because of that, I would think that Akane didn't leave without a fight. If you were thinking straight and being more observant, you'd have found that out yourself."

Ranma blinked twice at her, Nabiki gave him a pointed look. "Mother is inside, I'm going to attend to the guests... since I think I know what you used those ten samurai for, and I know you can handle the situation,. I'll be you for the rest of ganjitsu." Taking a small ladle of water from the side Nabiki poured some over herself, then adjusted the now tight belt she had. "I'm changing clothes. Go find her."

* * *

Akane was shoved into a room which was lined with shelves containing an assortment of bottles. It smelled like the chemistry lab back in high school. The sharp smell of chemicals was laden in the air that no amount of airing would cleanse. It took a while before her eyes became used to the light. 

When Koji had let her go, she stumbled. She tried to get back the way they came in only to be stopped by Kikuko. "No, Lady Saotome. I suggest you keep to where you are."

Sighing Akane followed them to where she was herded. She was not bound, but she was effectively gagged. When they had led her to their makeshift prison -- a room which had been originally used as a place to discard waste chemicals -- they released her from her gag before shoving her in and bolting the door shut.

"Lady Saotome..." someone called from the dark. The flickering lamplight told her that there were three others with her but she could not distinguish their faces with the distance. She walked closer to them. "So they got you too."

The girl, who had been previously in the bed lifted herself up in a tired fashion and then clung to the other man who had not yet spoken. "Why would they want Lady Akane?"

Akane recognized the voice instantly as Ifuku, and she tried to stifle the startled gasp that escaped her lips as she drew nearer. When the light had splashed across his features, Akane made out Omokage from the shadows, as the man who had identified her. The unknown man was quickly identified as Sohin by Omokage for her benefit.

"Kodachi wants to get to Ranma. What else would she use to take him down other than that whom he'd risk his life for?" the words were said in deep contemplation and a belief that Akane did not share. Sohin gauged Akane's form critically finally voicing out the reason why they were drawn into the spiral of Kodachi's plot. "I hear you have called yourself Akane Tendo."

Akane gulped at the scrutiny of the man, yet in some way, he reminded her of some relative of her father. An old uncle she and Kasumi visited before he had passed away. "I **am** Akane Tendo," Akane muttered in the dark as she fingered the soft strands of her hair. "At least I was before I married Ryoga."

Sohin and Ifuku looked at each other in an odd way before Ifuku strained to turn towards Akane. As Kodachi's maid since the marriage, Ifuku was the most knowledgeable of the three about Kodachi Kuno. "But, Lady Kodachi, you've never been married to anyone other than Lord Ranma, and your name isn't Akane." Even if they've already established who Kodachi was previously, even if she already called Akane by her true name before they were captured.

Akane sensed that this was a test, but did not know how to proceed. She grew uneasy by the looks that they were giving her. At the way that even Ifuku sent her a distrusting look. She knew it was far better to pretend amnesia than the truth, but her frustration at her situation gave way to a loose tongue. "Well what am I supposed to tell you? That I'm from the future? That I was born as Akane Tendo? That I was sent to replace Kodachi in some god-forsaken quest that I really understand nothing about?" The despair in her voice was easily identifiable.

"And your amnesia?" Ifuku asked then coughed out a little, body wreaking coughs that belied the strength of her questioning.

Akane brought her hand through her hair forcefully letting a few of the black strands out of their bindings. "If Ranma didn't believe then how could you?" Akane asked mournfully, talking for the first time the painful and magical truth of her presence. "I died, I died in a car crash. Why do you think I changed so completely? Because I am not Kodachi."

"That would explain why Kodachi is in Akane's body," Sohin muttered as he patted Ifuku's shoulder, taking all of it in stride for someone who'd just met her. "You should rest."

Ifuku glared at him, and it was the first time Omokage saw any sort of outward anger displayed against Sohin. Ifuku stood up, her legs a little wobbly then turned to look at them. "I'm fine. Lady Kodachi treated me well enough. She doesn't need to keep us in a thirty minute watch when she's looking around Rose Brier spotting a chance to kill Lord Ranma. She needs me alive."

This time, it was Akane's turn to be bewildered, not understanding the reason for wanting her own servant girl. "But... why?"

"Lady Akane, let me introduce you to Lady Shori Tendo of Sanuki." Omokage said Ifuku's name in resigned reverence. "She is one of the three heirs of the Tendo Clan. Currently pretending to be your maid Ifuku... oh and before I forget, Sohin is her husband. I don't even know if that's his real name."

"What!" Akane exclaimed in surprise then turned to Sohin, and as she tilted her head realizing exactly why her uncle looked like him. Ancestors, she was facing her ancestors. She'd been living with one for months, she was both a little awed at their presence and slightly pissed that they kept it from her. "Why the hell didn't anyone tell me?"

"To repeat what you have said, Lady Akane... what was I supposed to say?" Ifuku shrugged as she finally sat down beside Sohin again, her strength drained from her. "That's why it's called a secret identity."

"I'd appreciate it if you told me now," the pleading was not lost on either Ifuku or Sohin, and she could see that they would tell her about it. "I would want to hear it."

"Would you?" Ifuku asked, giving her a sideways glance, then another look of confirmation from Sohin. Akane noted that though Ifuku had not liked it when Sohin told her to rest, she looked up to him for guidance and approval. When he had nodded Ifuku started to tell her everything...

"I am the second of three children born out of my father's consorts. When my father died without planting a seed in his legal wife's womb she, in a fit of jealous rage, ordered us killed."

... **Almost** everything.

* * *

Shampoo cursed as she moved along the pathways towards Rose Brier. Her main hindrance was the fact that she was a cat. She didn't know how she was going to approach the Saotome siblings in her condition. With the luck she was having, they'd probably both run away before they actually had a chance to realize who she was. 

From what she knew of the defenses of Rose Brier, they also implemented a strict no-cat policy inside its borders. Which meant she kept to the trees most of the time that she was traveling.

Gosunkugi dropped her off near the periphery of Kamakura, not quite near Rose Brier. She's had trouble getting hot water since then in the form of old women beating her out of their houses and old men poking rakes at her. She finally decided against changing when a kid had started throwing rocks at her. As a cat, it took her a week to reach Rose Brier. It was a move that would have taken just a little over two days as a human.

Once she finished through this ordeal, she needed to talk to Ranma about loosening their anti-cat laws. It was bordering on insane. She would cross that bridge once she was in Rose Brier. The villagers might not think too kindly on a Chinese woman who shows up unannounced and naked in the middle of their kitchens and or baths.

Because of this, she had also not reached her great-grandmother. She did not know how long it would take to be discovered missing, but she knew that it is very probable that Kodachi had already found out. A major flaw in the plan lay in that she herself did not know what the hell Kodachi's next move would be. All she knew was the damned location of the house where they kept her, and that's useless once Kodachi finds out she's missing.

When she had spotted the bridge that led to Rose Brier, she jumped down from the trees and walked towards it. Her mind raced at what could be done. One of her whiskers twitched as she saw the number of people leaving the house. 'New Year, great.' Shampoo thought as she ran towards one of the windows and stealthily entered it without further notice.

Majority of the cooks were making small meals that could be fed to the people who were continuously arriving. Shampoo's presence was almost immediately detected as one of the maids tried to chase her out of the room. With a large carving knife. 'Aiya.' Shampoo thought as she evaded one of the blows. It would be so much better if the twins didn't have a rule that stated no cats in the house. She ran towards the big kettle and wondered how the hell she was going to upend it on her person.

She finally managed to tip some of the contents towards her and grimaced at the sticky soup that fell on her. The woman stared at her, Shampoo glared at them. Standing up with as much dignity as she could muster without clothes and half a serving of miso soup on her head she said, "What you looking at? Shampoo need to talk to Ranma. Now."

* * *

Akane was surprised that Kodachi was summoning her. From the way that Kodachi ignored her from the moment she arrived, she assumed that Kodachi wanted nothing to do with her. 

She stood up with as much dignity as she could muster while being prisoner and gave a reassuring smile to Ifuku while Kikuko secured Akane's hands. When Kikuko had finished, Akane was led slowly out of the door.

Whatever Akane expected to find when she met Kodachi, she was unprepared to meet the woman whose body she now occupied and whose unmentionable deeds caused her so much trouble until today.

The whole reason why Ranma could not trust her.

The reason why she was still alive.

Akane was both intrigued and worried by the woman.

Each step she took weighted upon her heart. Who was Kodachi Saotome?

When she approached the lady, Akane was struck by two things, the eerie familiarity of the figure and the laugh that was starting to lift out of her throat.

They seemed to have arrived at the main lab of sorts, where rows of chemicals in shelves surrounded a long wooden table filled with mixtures and what Akane imagined a laboratory back in the 1600's looked like.

When Kodachi had whirled around to face her, Akane took a step back shock sweeping through her. Had she the capability of moving a hand against her mouth she would have. "You."

Kodachi nodded to Kikuko who left them alone then raised her hand on Akane's face, and moved her head about tilting it from side to side. "You've taken care of my body I see," Kodachi said as she smiled. "I see recognition in your face. Do you know whose body I occupy now?"

"Mine."

Kodachi let out a long laugh. Akane stared at her. It was unnatural to see herself face to face. Kodachi let Akane's face go as she moved towards her potion racks. "No, Lady Akane. This body is not yours. This is the body of Shori Tendo's sister. Her name was Akane Tendo. She died a year ago."

Akane stepped back a little more, she thought nothing could surprise her, the past was continuously proving her wrong. "Did you kill her?"

As the question passed her lips, she noted that though the face was familiar, there were a few dissimilarities. The face was thinner than hers and there was a dimple that never graced her cheek in her body, the nose was daintier and smaller. Fuller red lips finished off the picture that would have looked ghastly on her, but seemed perfect adorning her ancestor's features. All in all, small changes that would have gone unnoticed had Kodachi not said it was a different body.

In retrospect, it was logical that Kodachi was harboring a body different from her own. With the principles of yin and yang, if Kodachi was handed her own body Kodachi should be in the present, in Ryoga's timeline.

Her thoughts brought her to back her former husband. She mourned him in her last depression stint, and now, though she remembered their times with fondness, she found that she could continue on with her life. Her depression had been a necessary purging. Now if she could get out of her present situation, she would find ways to continue on with her life.

"I can't be the one to blame for **everything** that happens in Rose Brier, Akane," Kodachi scoffed her face twisted in an unrecognizable glee. Akane shuddered at the look. She wondered if she'd ever used the expression that Kodachi held. "I came to take my body back from you." "Gladly." Akane said. She already tired of the body she's had. Although she has grown comfortable with it, it did not sit well with her that somewhere Kodachi held her face and used her name. "You repulse me Lady Saotome."

Kodachi gave another loud laugh, as if she expected Akane's words and did not care for the opinion she gave. "I'm not the one who's trying to steal a man who doesn't belong to her."

"He never loved you," Akane answered back as she gauged the demented woman in front of her. The woman who was the cause of most of the suffering she had to endure in Rose Brier and the woman who destroyed her chances for being friends with Ranma.

"Ranma's affections are meaningless to me. It's his power that intoxicates me. Yet he did not recognize me for who I was."

"And who were you Kodachi?" Akane asked, provoking the woman more.

"I was a brilliant strategist." She said the words with pride, and a great deal of belief. "A great fighter."

Akane stared as the woman ranted and cut her off from the long rant she was promising the start. "You lie. If you were all of those, the Saotome house would not have been this desolate when I came here."

"You seek to conform the concept of our happiness to what you know as happiness. You live in a world where happiness is defined by a family and a loving husband." She almost spat out the word, "This is a feudal society Lady Akane, happiness is power. I could have given him so much more. Instead he chose his sister to rule the house for me."

"You envy Nabiki for what she does?"

"No. I do not envy Lady Saotome." Kodachi laughed at the naiveté of her captive. She shook her head. "I despise her for stealing what **I** was. Yet I loathe Ranma more for giving her that power."

"You didn't do anything!" Akane shouted as she looked at the obsessed woman. "You tortured the people. You played your games on them. What kind of a sick monster are you?"

"**I** am their liege. They answer to me." Kodachi thundered her fist banging hard on the table then glared at her. "Ranma had no right to take that from me, and so I will take it from him. I will take his pathetic happiness. That means you, my dear."

Akane started to shake her head. "No... I --"

"Whatever you have done in my absence I see you've smitten the damned fool." Kodachi obviously detested the idea, even showed a degree of repulsion and annoyance for someone like Akane accomplishing what seemed to be an impossible task. "And what will break his heart more if your so called memory -- if my habits return?"

"I will never return to him if that's what you want," Akane answered defiantly.

"You don't need to return to him, Akane," Kodachi reassured the girl as she twirled a strand of her bluish black hair with her fingers. Then as if realizing what she was doing Kodachi let her hair go and looked back at Akane. "I plan on regaining my body. Soon."

* * *

Nabiki-kun was surprised to see Shampoo, half-naked and completely covered with miso soup by the doorway. He was happy that the girl was alright but at the same time, disapproved of her methods of getting his attention, especially since Shampoo was ruining perfectly good tatami in the process. 

"Ranma!" Shampoo called out as she pulled one gooey arm towards Nabiki-kun and pulled urgently. "_I know where Kodachi is at! Kodachi is alive and --_"

Nabiki tried to sort out half of what Shampoo was saying while trying to get on top of the situation. "Xian Pu, slow down. I can barely understand Mandarin spoken that fast. My vocabulary isn't what it used to be." She clapped her hands and summoned her maid, who bowed when she approached. "Please take Lady Xian Pu to Lady Nabiki's quarters, give her a warm bath and clothes." Nabiki started to address the vassals when something Shampoo said caught her attention.

"_Ranma, there isn't any time! Kodachi is back!_" Shampoo looked at him pleadingly resisting the maid's gentle urges to move. "_She's in __Kamakura__, Ranma! She's behind all of these border troubles you've been having._"

Nabiki looked at Shampoo sharply. "_What do you mean Kodachi's back?_"

Shampoo looked at Nabiki-kun helplessly, not knowing how to make him understand what she herself did not understand too much about. "_I cannot tell you more than what I know, Ranma, but the woman who's been with you for these past few months... she isn't Kodachi. But now your real wife is back. She can destroy you._"

Frowning at the words the Amazon had spoken, Nabiki looked at the vassals then at Shampoo. "_Maybe there is merit to what you say, Shampoo, but this is neither the time nor place to discuss such things. Clean yourself up, get a decent meal and I'll settle the vassals first. I shall join you shortly._"

"But Ranma!" Suddenly Shampoo looked at Nabiki-kun and narrowed her eyes at him. "_Nabiki! Where is Ranma? This is important. Kodachi is not someone to be underestimated._"

Nabiki glared at the woman as she lifted her hand to dismiss the vassals she momentarily forgot. When they had begun to move away, Nabiki addressed Shampoo fully, "I know what I'm doing Shampoo. I understand the urgency of the matter, but you are useless if you are hungry and tired. Did Matriarch Cologne not teach you that?"

Shampoo had been about to bite out another strong set of words when Nabiki resumed talking in a softer voice. "_My brother is not here, and I have yet to track him. He is looking for his wife._" Shampoo had been ready to interrupt again when Nabiki leaned closer to emphasize her words, "_I have to perform the duties of the daimyo for ganjitsu, or the whole city will know that something is wrong. It will not do for __Kamakura__'s morale to suffer another blow so soon after the torching of two of our cities. Do you understand, Shampoo?_"

Nodding Shampoo turned to follow the maid who had been waiting patiently for her. "_Saotome Nabiki, make sure you know what you are doing._"

Sighing as she watched Shampoo move towards the bath house, Nabiki turned towards the rest of the vassals, another fake smile plastered across her face to exchange in mixed pleasantries that she did not feel up to at the moment.

* * *

'Akane' Ranma thought as he moved from tree to tree in search for his wife, 'Where the hell are you?' The sun was now in the apex of its journey through the skies, significant time since he last saw her disappear into the bath house. 

He searched the entire periphery of the house, and the men had not signaled yet. 'Think Ranma,' He urged himself as he stopped on the highest tree he could find to look at the surrounding area. 'Where would you go if you had just kidnapped a girl out of the bathhouse and wanted to keep out of search patrol's eyes?'

His eyes fell on the trees. He'd pull her up a tree and wait for the patrol to move on before he pulled at the opposite direction. Usual tactics. It had a fair chance of succeeding in anyone's territory. Not likely to succeed in Saotome land.

Most of his men would look out for that, and the sea was too open to hold out in plain daylight. The town was too far and too inconvenient to hide. So the forest was their only hope.

A bird alighted from its perch and flew towards the cliffs. Ranma watched as it landed on the cliff-side. 'There is that...' Ranma thought, but the sheer impossibility of the climb with someone else dragging you along was what made him overlook it in the first place. It would be perilous to climb it alone... but with a captive? 'Unless it was Pantyhose or Nabiki, I'd seriously doubt anybody would try.'

But he was running out of options.

He jumped down where one of the samurai was waiting for him. "I'm checking out the area near Serpent's Bluff. Expand the search to the periphery of Rose Brier's property. I want her found."

* * *

Kodachi opened her lab as soon as it was dark enough for their movements to be undetectable. Kikuko brought her prisoners and her samurai with her as they departed. Kodachi nodded as they blended with the night. With the samurai preoccupied with Akane's search, leaving Kamakura would be decidedly harder for the Tendos.

But that wasn't her problem.

They could make it if the samurai found Akane soon. Kodachi smiled as she dragged her prisoner out of the small passageway from the lab that connected it to the forest. Using a short sword, Kodachi sliced the ribbon she had used to gag Akane. She was still effectively bound, though.

"My dearest girl, we are going for a walk. I'm sure you recognize the area." Kodachi motioned towards the beach and the adjacent forest. Kodachi was sure that the search party was still out, if there was one thing that she could depend on Ranma, it was his unwavering perseverance. She procured a rose seemingly out of nowhere and twirled it around before resting it against Akane's hair. "It's poison."

"What prevents me from screaming right now?" Akane challenged. "This is Saotome territory."

"If you thought you have a chance to live if you scream, you would have done it already." Kodachi shrugged as she leaned against the tree and watched her prisoner against the soft soil of the forest. "Or maybe you just took a gamble between shouting and not. Tell me did it pay off?"

It was obvious that Kodachi did not want an answer. She took out another rose and rubbed the stem against her hand. Then she leaned towards Akane's tied body and whispered, "Would you play with me, Akane?"

Akane looked away from the woman, and Kodachi gave a long laugh. "No? I promise it will be rewarding." Kodachi took in a deep breath as she straightened herself. "There are samurai in this forest, Akane. Two are looking for you. Ranma is looking for you right now. Nabiki is performing the role of daimyo in ganjitsu. I have just poisoned you. It's a relatively slow potion from the ones I usually use but I guarantee that before a stick is finished, you'll be dead."

Kodachi flipped the rose up and caught it again with her fingers, its black petals falling on the ground beneath her feet. "Nabiki knows of a way to delay that poison, find her and you will live. Unfortunately the cure puts you in a deep sleep, long enough for me to kill you, unstable enough that you may never wake up. Find Ranma and you will live long enough to tell him of whatever you have for him. Find the samurai... well... that depends on who they bring you to. But if you happen to find me... I will kill you. Painfully."

Kodachi tossed the rose up and shot its pointed edge against Akane. From Akane's experience, she knew just how deadly sharp Kodachi's weapons were. With the right force, it could almost be deadly and the poison would finish her off. Akane winced, closing her eyes instinctively, but Kodachi's intention was just to slice the ropes binding her.

Akane stood up slowly, rubbing her hands to get the circulation flowing back to them. Her legs were unstable enough for her to need support. Kodachi watched her try to stand up twice before she finally succeeded. Akane shook her head looking at the ground. "Why are you doing this?"

"Why?" A laugh escaped from Kodachi's throat. Akane was fast learning to dread it. She hated its ambiguousness. When Kodachi let it loose, it could mean any number of things that spelled bad things for her. "Does there have to be a reason to hate? I do this because I want to."

"You're crazy!" As she took the rose Kodachi had placed on her hair. She pricked her fingers against the thorns, but she threw the rose on the ground unmindful of the wound.

"And **you** are wasting time." Kodachi shook her head. She looked at the two roses that had fallen in a cross against each other then smiled up at Akane. "You don't understand anything do you? You are **dying**."

"Does it matter?" Akane asked defiantly. "You're going to kill me anyway."

Kodachi's smile widened at the words. She unsheathed the long sword that she had belted across the masculine garment she wore. "A defeatist attitude from you? It is uncharacteristic and makes the game entirely too short-lived. Will you not try saving your life?"

Akane stood before Kodachi, her limbs weak.

"Will you not run?"

-

A game.

Akane stood before Kodachi stoically as she assessed her options. She was too weak to match any wild and demented idea that Kodachi was willing to dish out. It all boiled down to who she would choose.

And if who she chose would be the right one.

Pick Nabiki and she had a chance at life.

Pick Ranma and she will die.

She was biding for time. Who to choose?

"Will you not run?"

Akane spun around and ran. Kodachi's laughter did not soften even in the distance. Akane looked around her. She was sure that this was the forest adjacent to Rose Brier. The question was, in which direction was she facing?

One path could lead to the beach, one to Serpent's Bluff, the next to Rose Brier and the other to the town. If she was extremely unlucky, the direction she would choose would lead to the border.

Akane cursed as she ran. She didn't need to choose who she was going to meet first. Luck was going to make that choice for her. If Kodachi didn't catch up with her first. If the potion didn't kill her.

She thought to call out more than once, but Kodachi's warning stopped her. Currently, Akane was unequipped to be in a fight. And if Kodachi found her, Akane did not doubt whether the woman would kill her.

* * *

After they had left Kodachi, Kikuko instructed all of her samurai to disperse and meet a small town away from Saotome territory. A smaller group was bound to attract less attention and would be swifter in crossing hostile territory.

For the three that remained she assigned two to guard the three of them and one to take up the rear while she set the pace for the group. Omokage watched closely as Kikuko moved swiftly across the trees. Swift on her feet, it seemed like she was not used to being slowed down by her captives. Omokage, Sohin and Ifuku were guarded and pushed on by two samurai, making sure that they followed Kikuko's lead and not escape.

Ifuku was the slowest of the three of them, having recovered only recently from the poison Kodachi had given her. Because of her pace, she was constantly harried by the samurai. Sohin watched but did nothing to help his wife from the constant shoves she received, which rankled on Omokage's nerves.

At one time, their guard's shove was hard enough to bring Ifuku to her knees. Glaring at the samurai who touched her, he quickly went to Ifuku's side. "Are you hurt, Ifuku-san?"

"I'm fine, please do not trouble yourself," Ifuku whispered as she tried to stand up, turning her face away from Omokage.

Because his hands were bound he could not turn Ifuku's face to look at what she was trying to hide, but it was obvious she had a wound. The wound was large enough for drops of blood to stain the dirty white robe that she wore since they had left the Tekeiji Temple. She used her shoulder to wipe her face and stood up.

A Tendo samurai was pulling Ifuku from the ground while reprimanding his companion for being rough. "Oi," Omokage called out to their guard. "Do not harass the Lady Tendo too much."

"This is what happens if you show prisoners kindness," the samurai said to his companion. "They forget that they are mere prisoners."

Omokage's eyes flared with anger as he charged against his guard. It was obvious that his bindings hampered him, so even if he was fast, he had little defense against the Tendo samurai's own attacks.

"Enough!" Kikuko thundered as she neared them, holding her two subordinates while glaring at Omokage. "We do not want unnecessary attention to ourselves in Saotome territory. God knows you have caused us enough time already."

The samurai who Omokage had not attacked watched the two other captives, while the samurai taking up the rear, Koji, was alertly looking for Saotome samurai that may have heard them.

"He is too impatient, this Omokage," Sohin noted as he watched from the tree he had leaned on when Omokage had started interfering with the samurai's affairs. "It's a miracle you reached me safely, Ifuku."

Ifuku smiled as she walked towards Sohin. When she was near enough for her to whisper without their guard hearing she said, "You judge him too soon." With a flick of her wrist she was freed of the last bindings on her rope. "Do you need help with yours?"

Sohin had not seen the evidence of her freedom for she had carefully hidden her hands from their guard as well as himself, but he knew what she was asking. "You forget yourself. I taught you that," Sohin reminded her as he looked at the small brawl that Omokage started and then at their guard with distaste. "Did he hurt you?"

He referred to the guard that had shoved her. Ifuku shook her head. "My lip split from impact, but it is minor to what I have felt under Kodachi's poison. I will be fine."

Their guard shifted wearily on his heels as he watched the two of them. He was silent as most of Kikuko's men were, with shifty eyes that watched them to no end. "Please step in towards the light, Lady Shori. It will not do if I cannot guard you properly."

Sohin snorted as Ifuku obeyed the command. "They call you by your title, Ifuku, but they show you no respect. What has Lady Chisei dangled in front of your eyes to make **you** move, samurai?"

He averted his eyes from Sohin's own. Ifuku shook her head. "Do not ask this man anymore, Sohin. There is weariness in our clan. I think they wish for it to end, whether the terms are on Chisei's or ours. It does not matter anymore."

-

Kikuko wiped her hands of the dirt as she left Omokage with Koji and the other samurai. She placed a hand on Ifuku and Sohin's guard. "We must leave the grounds before daybreak."

"I'm afraid **we** can't," Sohin objected.

Kikuko moved in front of him. "Defy me once more peasant and I will --"

Sohin's hands, which had been previously in between him and the tree shot out to take Kikuko's face, while the other hand liberated her of her sword. "We must turn down your gracious offer for Sanuki, Kikuko-san. But we cannot accompany you tonight." He took out the sword from its sheath and motioned for his enemies to draw closer. "We dance."

Koji made a break for Ifuku, while Kikuko tried to get her bearings, the other samurai held Omokage back and the last one meeting Sohin in battle. Ifuku turned around to run. "Koji-san!" she shouted as she ran. "Will you be able to kill me tonight?"

As soon as Sohin was given a few seconds of freedom from the assault, he blocked Koji's way. "Do not go for the woman. I am your opponent for tonight."

Kikuko who already regained her composure yelled, "Take care of them swiftly. Do not lose Eruchii as well. I will go after the girl."

She moved to run after Ifuku, while Sohin and her two subordinates fought. Sohin blocked one sword swipe after the other, on the defensive with one eye at Kikuko. When Kikuko stood up to run after Ifuku, he tried to disengage from the two samurai by pushing them away, then running in turn for Kikuko.

He was not successful though as Koji quickly recovered and tried to hit him with the sword across his shoulder blades. Sohin, realizing the attack, moved Kikuko's sword at his back to block and then swiftly turned around.

Koji smiled and told him, "I thought I was your opponent for tonight? Do not turn your back on me."

It was Sohin's turn to look perplexed as he focused his mind on the fight and hoped that Ifuku would do her best not to get caught.

Meanwhile, Kikuko turned to look back at the fight, seeing that Sohin was well taken care of, she focused on running after Ifuku. She cursed her luck as she kept Ifuku's small figure within her sight, but was thankful that the woman wore the white robes the monks at the temple had given her. It was easier to track her in the night.

* * *

Akane stopped short and then looked at the road. A dead end. She was in Serpent's Bluff. She whirled around as the leaves rustled around, every sound made her jump. Every movement made her a little more nervous.

'This isn't the way I should be fighting.' Akane thought as she swiveled around to look at the forest and took a deep breath. Slowly she took a ready stance and picked a point in the forest that she could focus on. Already the drug was taking its toll on her as she felt herself slowly beginning to give in to the drug, her senses were off, and she was swaying to whatever winds that was inside her head.

'At least I won't go down without a fight,' Akane thought to herself as one figure approached her in the dark. She was already light-headed from the drug.

She didn't have to wait long for company, and when she had realized the presence, she snapped to attention as much as she could humanly could with the poison coursing through her veins.

"Akane?"

Akane's head shot out at the voice, it was slurry to her brain, muddled, without gender and without identity. She squinted at the blurry shapes that were forming across her vision, unsure what was real, or what was due to the drug's creation.

In an instant there were hands around her, a hand touching her forehead, cold hands that felt her cheek. "Where have you been -- what happened to you?" a low voice. It was definitely male unless she lost more brain functions when she had blindly run away from Kodachi.

Akane shook her head as she pushed him away. "Who are you?"

There was a pause. "It's Ranma," he whispered. There was the soft rustle of cloth, and she felt the thin material that was Ranma's shirt draped around her. She had not even realized that she was shivering from the cold.

"Are you an illusion my desperate mind has made?" Akane whispered as she clutched onto the cloth that felt real enough to her touch. She turned to him desperately, his features clearing out in the dark sky. "I'm dying."

It was not what she had wanted to say when she had found him, yet it was what had tumbled out unwittingly from her mouth. She had wanted to find him so badly that she feared that her mind was just compensating for the fear she had felt of never seeing him again.

Ranma shook his head as he looked at her, his Chinese shirt was thin so he doubted if it added some heat at all to her body, but he had wanted to give her something, and it had been the closest one that came to mind. "Do you want to leave so much, that you would want to die? Is life here that miserable for you?"

Akane clutched his hands suddenly, and for a moment her eyes were clear from the sickness that she was with, desperate that her message be sent across. It was the third time he asked a similar question of her, and she didn't know if it was because he desperately wanted her reassurance or he wanted an excuse to leave. "I was never miserable, Ranma. Scared, yes, but I was never miserable with you. I lo--"

Whatever she was going to say was cut off when Ranma lifted her into his arms as he stood up. He knew what she was going to say, understood the words she was starting from, but he did not want to hear it said out loud.

Hearing the words would have made it tangible, too easy to snatch away and declare that it had never happened. Unspoken, at least he knew who he was and where he stood. Hearing her say it in this almost delirious state was also meaningless, for she would barely remember what she had said and could probably not know what she meant.

He held her tightly against his chest as he jumped towards Rose Brier, hoping that whatever ailed her was not serious enough to warrant her death as she had so lightly proclaimed.

"Don't you love me?"

Ranma mentally winced at the question, and pretended not to hear it as he headed for Rose Brier. He was not going to declare foolishly of things that could possibly be snatched in an instant, not to a girl who did not know what she was saying.

**

* * *

**

**Disclaimer: **Ranma co. were borrowed from the brilliant mind of Rumiko Takahashi. The original story was based on a book, When there is Hope.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Happy New Year!

Here you go guys. You thought you'd have another four month's waiting period, didn't you? We're still editing this, and pre-readers will still have a say before it goes into FFML and then finally into my site and RAAC.

Some questions in the reviews were answered in this chapter, I hope.

Originally, this was two chapters long. There was a large scene cut out in the middle that forced me to merge both chapter 16 and chapter 15 together (this was originally 23,740 and I had to cut it down to 17,665 but finally finished off with the current 20,106 :), the chemist in me counts ...)

However, that scene was another Ranma-Akane fight followed by a Ranma-Akane making up and I thought, what the hell these two should just stop fighting and start getting along. I agree that their fights are frustrating, they frustrate me too. It's just that sometimes the characters just want to fight and I'm helpless to stop them –shrugs- which is why I write it out, and tehn I cut the scene. --;

Apologies to Alan Harnum for the _Lord of the Waters_ title. :p It seemed like an appropriate line. If you don't know what I'm talking about, please Read "Waters Under Earth" by Alan Harnum. It's a great read. Since I can't place links here just google it, under key words waters under earth harnum ranma fanfic.

OK, after this is going to be a PRETTY long discussion of what people placed in their reviews so.. if you're not interested in long rants... haha... why are you reading the author's notes then:p 

Time in this fic, as has been pointed out by someone, has been a little bit ambiguous. If there was a term to describe this, it would be a 'whirlwind affair' haha. I got to write that down. The entire story has progressed several months and is drawing close to a year in fanfic time. Akane dropped in at the end of winter and now it's the beginning of the year again almost the end of winter.

At this point, I'd like to acknowledge Howard Russell who helped me through the transitions ambiguousness of time in the fic. I'm beginning revising the chapters already to make leeway for the flow of time, for now, I will be reposting 14 and 15 and the rest needs to be reevaluated. I also roughly reconstructed a timeline so that I know how everything is paced. I'll post that as soon as I finish the next chapter.

I had a little trouble with the Money washing (being in December) and I realized that Chinese New Year was around February (I was operating on New Year being January before I remembered that Japan probably celebrates Chinese New Year). But then, we're operating on a timeline that New Year is January 1 because to the Japanese, the start of the year is important. (Besides the fact that I'm not sure if they really did peg the new year along with the chinese).

As for Ranma and Akane falling in love too soon, or falling in love at all, I would like to share what Nonny wrote me:

I think there are a number of factors. The main one might not satisfy your standards, but a lot of people are into the whole 'they belong together' thing and assume that they would naturally be drawn to each other. I think that works in this setting, it's certainly the basis for nearly every RxA story out there. However, it might not suit your desire for realism, so here are a couple of other ideas.

Women are generally attracted to men because they feel that they can protect them (Sounds medieval maybe but being brutally honest in reality if you take a close look and break things down to their basics that is what it boils down to.) Akane is bereft of everything she's known, in a strange place and emotionally vulnerable. It really isn't unlikely that she, in her desire to find a place for herself in this new environment, would turn to her attractive, obviously strong and capable, shown to be caring in many ways, financially secure and above all married to her, husband.

He's married to her, she isn't going back no matter what, that's been established. She's stuck where she is and in the person she is and that person is his wife, so there is already a connection. He's got an emotional connection to her which is compelling in its own way. (By which I mean the 'love' that he thought he felt for Kodachi and his need for his wife to be the supportive person he thought she was to begin with.) The personality factors which supposedly draw them together in the original series are still in affect, and she needs affection and acceptance.

Also, I think that Ranma is sympathetic in his own way. She sees the situation he is in politically and personally. Sees his interaction with his children, his household, his sister, his lord and his 'wife', and I think that she as an outsider is in a unique position to really appreciate just how much pressure he is under and how precarious things are. In some ways they are in the same position, which is exactly one of the things which drew them together, seemingly against their will, in the original series.

Some people asked about the new characters so... here goes. Initially, most of the characters in Rend are either from Ranma 1/2 or completely new. However, as time progressed, my sister kept pointing out little quirks in their personality reminding her of some people.

For example,  
Sohin reminds her of Miroku (from Inu Yasha, another Takahashi creation, if you're not familiar with it.)  
Ifuku has some remnants of Kasumi in her.  
Omokage sounds like Kouga (also an Inu Yasha character)

Although their personalities are different, there are some similar traits. If you also notice, Akane also talks about a boy hounding her in Furinkan (Kuno), Nabiki (Akane's sister) is present in her timeline albeit dying in college because of a mugging. They are present so that Akane's timeline in the Ranma universe doesn't change too much.

These 'souls' although similar and were reborn in her time, doesn't necessarily mean she knew them right off (facial features etc). In this fic, Akane was reborn twice, as Nabiki's daughter, as one of the Tendo heirs and finally, as herself in the future. If you notice, Kagome is quite different from Kikyou. The same soul but two different identities, so I guess it would be quite difficult to tell them apart.

Ranma's incarnation in Akane's time, we haven't met yet.

_If I died tomorrow and loose you, my soul would always know you._

Soulmates, what a concept. It makes me all weepy. Argh, now if I could go find myself one.

iCe

* * *

**website: **ice _dot _esmartdesign _dot _com  
**email**: siuane _at_ gmail _dot_ com  
**livejournal**: ice _underscore_ of _underscore _dreams

* * *

**Footnotes**: 

**New Year in ****Japan **taken from a site but ff.n doesn't link files. just google the first sentence). I also borrowed a couple of books from the library about it, but this is pretty much it:

The family waits up to hear the Joya-no-Kane, or midnight tolling of the temple bells. At the stroke of midnight on New year's Eve, the entire nation listens to the tolling of the Tsuri-Gane, the great bells or gongs at Japan's Buddhist temples. While it is bell-shaped, the Tsuri-gane is struck on the outside by a large wooden hammer suspended by ropes, so it may be thought of as a gong.

The Joya-no-Kane consists of 108 solemn tolls on the temple bells. According to Buddhism, man has 108 sins and that, by hearing the bells toll that number, he can be relieved of all of them.

Thus the New Year begins in Japan. Family members traditionally spend New Year's morning briefly worshiping at home at miniature Buddhist and Shinto altars. The people use the day for making resolutions which they intend to keep for the coming year. A well-known Japanese proverbs says: "New Year's is the key to unlock the year".

The family exchanges greeting for the holiday. Afterward, children are presented by their parents with Otoshi-Dama, New Year's gifts, usually in the form of money placed in special little envelopes. Later, relatives and close friends bring Otoshi-dama when they visit. The sum is larger than the usual allowance and children are free to spend it as they wish. Children look forward to New Year's largely because they know they will receive Otoshi-dama and because they will be able to dress in their most beautiful clothes.

* * *

I write when the spirit moves, and I make sure it moves every day.  
unknown 


	17. Part 16: January

**Revisions::**  
06/10/07 – Added oniisama honorific when Ifuku talks to Eruchii  
11/06/06 – Changed numbers of samurai under Ranma's banner  
04/27/06 – Added a Kikuko questioning scene  
04/20/06 – Release Date

* * *

**Special Thanks to:**  
Tin  
Ellen Kuhfeld  
Jourdan Bickham  
Howard Russel

* * *

**A Note of Warning:**

The questioning scene used has adult connotations. Besides, it's a semi-torture scene, it's bound to be more adult than normal.

* * *

We can burst the bonds which chain us,  
Which cold human hands have wrought,  
And where none shall dare restrain us  
We can meet again, in thought.  
_Parting_  
**Charlotte Bronte **

* * *

**Rendezvous with Fate v.3**  
by iCe  
Chapter 16

_... I didn't think that a person could hurt so much from loving someone and being loved in return..._

* * *

Ifuku cursed her lack of ability to jump from tree to tree like her brother. She risked a look behind her and found out that only Kikuko followed. 'I cannot outdistance Kikuko,' she thought as she moved about the plants, mindful not to trip over the protruding roots or the bushes around her. 'But I must not fail as well.' 

She looked up at the sky, then back at the trail. Her one advantage over Kikuko was knowledge of the area, but that was about it. They were near the main house and if she could get to it before Kikuko caught her, she would be all right. Mind racing, she jumped over a small shrub and sighed. 'Things were much simpler when I was pretending to be a servant.'

She rounded another bend in the path and was thankful when she saw the lights of the guardsmen's lanterns at the gate. She doubted if Kikuko would stop for them, though.

She stumbled over a protruding tree root which she had not seen in the dark. She didn't look back to check if the momentary lapse had gained Kikuko enough leverage to catch her. Ifuku just ran on. Her heart was racing, her muscles were sore, and she was dead tired. Kikuko was a samurai, trained to kill, trained to hunt. Ifuku was a servant, for fifteen years now, housework was not the same.

She didn't slow when she reached the gates, knowing that Kikuko would just try to kill the samurai. Ifuku barely noticed the shimenawa, a sacred pole made of rice straw that was hung over the entrance, a sign of the New Year's festivity. Her sense of time had been dulled by her captivity. Ifuku shivered as she added one more samurai to her tail.

"Excuse me!" she called out as she stepped on Saotome grounds which were filled with people milling about. She didn't know if she should be thankful for the extra cover or be annoyed with the extra obstacles.

She found Ranma in one of the larger rooms -- after she hit at least half of the guests running towards him. "Lord Ranma!" Ifuku bowed immediately as her lord looked upon her. "Sanctuary! Please!"

Before Ranma could even answer her request, the samurai that guarded the gate took Ifuku's hands and shoved them behind her back, a clear sign that she was their captive. "Lord Ranma! Sorry for the interruption, she got past the gates because --"

Ranma held his hands up for silence and then turned to Ifuku. He raised her chin so that he could see her face with better light. "This is Kodachi's maid. I thought I trained you better than **not** to recognize the household. Leave us." The samurai immediately let go of Ifuku's hands, bowed and left to resume his post.

Dismissing all the other vassals, he smiled at Ifuku and cleared her misconception of his identity. "Ifuku, I'm Shizukama-kun," Nabiki-kun told the girl as he took a piece of cloth from the side and offered it to Ifuku to wash her face. Ifuku was one of the servants who knew of Jusenkyo. It was inevitable, because she was Kodachi's maid, and Kodachi announced the fact to anyone whom she could prove it to. Being Kodachi's maid, she heard it most often and the examples were more frequent than most.

Ifuku nodded as she took the cloth, and whispering her thanks. She was not able to explain anything, because by the time she was about to blurt out her hurried confession, Kikuko had burst into the room through the closed shoji and took her by the shoulder.

Nabiki immediately tensed but kept her serene facade, not showing surprise at the sudden arrival. She did not even protest the manner of Kikuko's arrival, so used to Shampoo's 'door making' that it was merely an annoyance. Addressing Kikuko she demanded, "Who are you, and what do you want from a servant of the House of Saotome?"

Kikuko sneered, and shook Ifuku from side to side as if the girl were a mere rag doll. "This lady is no more a servant of the Saotome Clan than I am a samurai from your ranks, Lord Saotome." Taking a sword she'd just liberated from one of the samurai outdoors, she held it against Ifuku's throat. "Tell her who you are, Lady Tendo."

At the title by which Kikuko addressed Ifuku, Nabiki turned to look sharply at the woman. Ifuku winced at the cold sword blade pressed against her throat. After a few seconds of silence, the sword moved to draw closer forcing Ifuku to finally open her mouth and rasp out, "I am Shori Tendo, second born of the Tendo Clan that you were looking for, my lord. Akane Tendo was my sister."

Through that new information, pieces of the puzzle slowly fell into place. Yet, more questions appeared than were answered. "Was?" Nabiki asked, bewildered, as she balled her hands into fists trying to find out how to defeat Kikuko without killing Ifuku in the process. She mentally berated herself for the guards' lack of training. Guards should never be this lax, even in ganjitsu. He made a mental note to change the guard duties after she finished with this new development.

"She died over a year ago," Ifuku recounted as she raised her hands to clasp the sword that was threatening her life. She slowly rose to her feet as Kikuko tried to move towards the door. Ifuku was thankful that Kikuko let her stand and did not drag her across the tatami. "Please, my lord, help me."

"Unfortunately, you helping her does not fit into **any** of my plans," Kikuko declared as she stepped back taking Ifuku with her. "I have no business with the house of Saotome. Do not engage in a fight with me, my lord. This is between the Tendos."

Nabiki-kun shook his head as he gave an arrogant smile. "Why would **I** care what happens to Kodachi's servant?" He crossed his arms in front of his chest and raised an eyebrow. "You could have just hauled her out of here and be done with the whole process."

Kikuko moved back inching towards the entrance while trying to move Ifuku to go in the direction she wanted to. She was skeptical of the freedom given to her, but she was not one to question her good luck. "Thank you, my lord."

"Unfortunately," Nabiki drawled as she pointed towards the doors that Kikuko had destroyed to enter the room. "You have just wrecked the front doors and scared my vassals half out of their wits. We can't have **that** on ganjitsu now, can we?"

Kikuko's grip on the sword tightened while Nabiki slowly moved towards them. "I'm going to kill her," Kikuko threatened.

"Go ahead." Nabiki continued to move forward, seemingly oblivious to Ifuku's plight. "I'm sure it took you no trouble to evade the samurai at the front gates and get past the samurai in the house to wreck **my** doors, just to take some pathetic old maid hostage to move **out** of the house." Nabiki smiled again. "What does Tendo Shori have, that you want her so desperately?"

Kikuko cursed as she eyed Nabiki and then pushed Ifuku to the ground between them. As soon as she released her hostage, Kikuko turned to flee, only to have her hand caught by Nabiki.

Using the hand she captured, Nabiki pulled Kikuko towards herself. Kikuko resisted the pull and drew out the sword to a defensive stance. "I was willing not to fight, Lord Saotome."

"I'm more than willing," Nabiki informed her, as she released the hand and jumped back. "You've already wrecked the front door anyway. Why not wreck the entire house?"

Kikuko's eyes glinted as she lunged for Nabiki, going for the throat. Ducking, Nabiki tried to elbow her, but Kikuko had already moved and was drawing the blade downwards.

Rolling to the side, Nabiki took Kikuko out by a kick which liberated the girl of her sword and another kick which brought the girl to her knees. Nabiki stood up, took a good look at the girl and then punched her out.

She then looked at Ifuku, who by then crawled up and was massaging her wounded neck. "You mind explaining to me **what** the hell is going on here?" Nabiki demanded.

* * *

Ranma looked at the single guard at the gates, bewildered. In his haste, he did not bother to ask why there was only one standing there when it should have been two. 

As he approached the house in his usual breakneck pace, he did notice that the front shoji of Rose Brier was completely wrecked, most of the vassals were littered along the grounds not daring to enter the house, and his mother was looking disapprovingly at the entire messy picture.

He wanted to stop and greet his mother but thought that Akane's poisoning was a more immediate concern. As soon as he stepped into the house he called out, "Nabiki! I need you down here! Now!"

Nabiki-kun's response was immediate. She was by his side in an instant with all the fake bowing and scraping that the usual peasant did when greeting their master home. "Is that enough for you?" she asked with one eyebrow raised.

"I don't have time for games, Nabiki. I need your help." He moved towards the rooms checking them, before entering the first one he found with a decent futon laid out and ready for use. He laid Akane down in the bed and then turned to Nabiki. "She's sick."

"Ranma, you do realize that one: I am not a goddamned doctor and two: you have just shouted my **name** to the entire world who **doesn't** know that Nabiki just happens to look like a male Ranma," Nabiki deadpanned as she moved towards Akane.

"You are not helping," Ranma complained as he leaned back against the shoji to watch his sister-turned-brother work. He knew that at times like these, he would only hamper her abilities, rather than be of any use.

"It's not as if you're a big help as well," Nabiki muttered, then to keep Ranma busy and to keep the situation out of his mind she ordered, "Go get me water, some towels and a spare kimono." She was intent on her task and Ranma was already almost out of the door before she added as an afterthought, "I want some hot water, as well. I want to return my body to what it's supposed to look like."

Ranma left and shut the door while Nabiki turned her attention back to Akane who was half delirious with her poisoning. Placing her hand against the sick girl's forehead, Nabiki frowned at the fever that was rising.

She shook the Akane awake. "Akane," Nabiki called persistently. "Akane, do you want anything?"

Akane tried to cough out a few words, but they were unintelligible. Nabiki drew her ear near Akane's mouth and she barely heard the word Akane rasped out, "Water."

Nabiki nodded. "I already sent Ranma to get some water for you. What are you feeling right now?"

Sensing where the questioning was going to lead, Akane managed to croak through closed lips, "Kodachi poisoned me." Akane's message had been painfully delivered, and every word she forced out as if it was the death of her. "She said you knew the cure."

Nabiki wondered if Akane knew that she was supposed to be Kodachi Saotome, and that the entire message didn't make sense at all, but delirium was natural in sickness such as hers. Running her hand through her hair Nabiki sighed. "That gives me poisoning but with what? How were you poisoned Akane?"

There was no answer from the girl.

Nabiki undressed Akane while she looked for the entry point. Had Kodachi/Akane poisoned herself? But then, there was Shampoo's information about Kodachi switching bodies, and if that were to be believed, then this girl might not be in delirium after all. Kodachi usually used inhalants, but there were times when she laced the tip of her sword with poison. Nabiki needed to find out exactly how she was poisoned. After thoroughly examining the woman, Ranma came back with the supplies Nabiki had asked for.

Dousing Nabiki with the kettle, he handed her the other materials. Nabiki glared when Ranma had poured the water, but did not complain, and took the articles from him. She then methodically inched over the rest of Akane's body for any sign of a wound. "Make her drink some of that water," she commanded, addressing Ranma, though she did not take her attention away from her patient.

Ranma complied as Nabiki wet the towels, scrubbing Akane down with them, and then changed her clothing. She wasn't sure if the clothes had any poison, but caution was good. Calling for her maid, she requested that Akane's clothing be burnt.

The maid bowed and left.

"I don't know what poison invades her body right now. She's delirious, dehydrated, a bit thirsty but has no abdominal pain. That means she didn't drink or eat it." Nabiki placed a new wet towel over Akane's forehead. "That leaves inhalation and skin contact. I haven't found any wounds yet, so it might mean that Kodachi just used one of her powders again."

Ranma let Akane's head down softly on the pillow after trying to force down as much water into her as he could without actually killing the girl. As he set her down he noticed five irregular puncture marks on the left side of her head, visible now because Akane's sweat had drenched her black locks so much that they were pressed against her scalp.

"Look at this," Ranma directed, bringing Nabiki's attention to Akane's face, at a point near her ear, as he lightly stroked his thumb against her hair to clear the wounds of the curls. "Does that look like an entry point to you?"

Nabiki looked at the abrasions and nodded, bringing the bowl of water she used to clean Akane as she rinsed the spot where the poison entered her system. "It looks like whoever poisoned her used a rose to inject her with the toxin. It's similar to what Kodachi does to her victims. This was **not** done in the battle field. The culprit took a rose placed it on her ear and then pressed the rose against her until it broke skin."

There was a long moment of silence as Ranma considered it. He looked at Nabiki after a while and found she had been staring at him intently. "That's Kodachi's technique. Especially with girls she was jealous over."

"It worries me," Nabiki muttered, as she took the bowl to replace it with fresh water and motioned Ranma to follow her. "Shampoo came in today. Ifuku also got back from her long trip. What they told me is disturbing.

She passed a maid to whom she handed the bowl, and instructed in Akane's care. She needed a way to find out what had been in Akane's poison and a clear mind to mix the antidote.

She stopped in front of the room she had given Shampoo and looked at Ranma. "Can we believe whatever they tell us, Ranma?"

"Can we afford not to believe them?" he countered just as heavily as she had asked her question, and just as quietly, so Shampoo would not hear. "I don't think either Shampoo or Ifuku have enough motives to mislead us.

"It's not their motives I question. It's **where** they received their motives," Nabiki explained, opening Shampoo's shoji and letting light from the hallway spill into the dark room. Shampoo was asleep. If she had not been, Nabiki's sudden entry would have caused a shout of ire from the woman.

Shampoo was awakened easily by their presence, though, and she eyed them wearily as she slowly sat up from her futon, rubbing her eyes into wakefulness. "You brought Ranma."

"Tell him your story, Shampoo," Nabiki urged as she watched the woman from the doorway. Ranma stood impassively beside her, not really understanding what Shampoo's story had to do with Akane's poisoning, but knowing that it was important enough for Nabiki to have brought him here.

So he patiently waited for Shampoo to begin.

And when the story unraveled from her his puzzlement dissolved into worry.

And worry finally gave way to fear.

* * *

Kodachi smiled as she watched Ranma enter Rose Brier with Akane in his arms. She looked at the moon and laughed. It would not be long until the potion induced a deep sleep. She would make her move then. She would regain her body and then kill that woman. 

Fingering her short blue-black hair, Kodachi frowned. 'It's a pity **my** beauty was wasted with such a pitiful girl.' It is always a waste to watch beautiful things die.

She smiled at that thought, and continued to watch Rose Brier patiently. Nabiki would have a hard time identifying the poison she infused Akane's body with. There was no precise medication if she did not know what she was curing. If she were lucky, maybe Nabiki would do her job for her and kill Akane.

But that would be too easy and not entirely what she wanted.

Kodachi knew what poisons Nabiki was familiar with and though this particular one was rare, she would know how to administer a cure.

'So that I can kill her again,' Kodachi thought closing her eyes, imagining what kind of death would be fitting to one similar to Akane, to one who had already survived death's embrace once. 'With my own hands, with my **real** hands.'

Akane's death needed to be beautifully executed.

Kodachi frowned a bit as she examined her thoughts carefully. 'Hmmm... it seems like I have found something more fulfilling than destroying Ranma-sama.' She sighed.

But Ranma wasn't going to die. She promised that she wasn't going to kill Ranma. He was needed in some other ways. He was **important** to the society, and therefore his death needed to be on the battlefield. It was a battlefield which she didn't need nor want to create for him. She was content destroying what precious happiness he has left.

No. Ranma didn't need death. He just needed to be destroyed. Kodachi sighed in contentment when she had sorted out all of her misgivings.

Yes, everything needed to be beautiful.

She laughed again.

* * *

Hanae found Shampoo practicing a kata in one of the rooms. Hanae clapped and giggled as Shampoo, unaware that she had a spectator, finished the complex round of movements. 

"That was great! I never could do that last part though," Hanae marveled as she approached Shampoo. When she had noticed the woman's stare on her, Hanae's smile faded. She consciously checked herself for a strand of hair misplaced or her obi lopsided but could find nothing amiss. Finally she turned to Shampoo. "Is something wrong, Shampoo-san? Did I say anything to offend you?"

Kneeling down so that she was seeing Hanae eye to eye, Shampoo placed her hands on Hanae's shoulders. It was the first time she had seen her niece up close because she avoided moments alone with her, desperately trying to forget that she represented the love of her cousin. She voiced the question that had been haunting her ever since she had found Hanae's picture at the Saotome Donjon. "Did you know your mother, Hanae?"

Hanae looked up to Shampoo sensing that the question was important. Her voice was solemn when she answered, "Daddy has always told me of her, 'ntie Shampoo. I don't think he's gonna let me forget her. **I** won't forget her."

A tear fell from Shampoo's eye unwittingly. She smiled in turn, berating herself for doubting Ranma. "It's good that he remembers to tell you of her. Rian was the best of our generation."

Hanae smiled as she brought up a small handkerchief she had hidden in her obi to wipe the tear off Shampoo's eyes. "He tells me about my father too, 'ntie Shampoo. Daddy will always make me remember my past."

Shampoo looked at Hanae in shock as Hanae kept the small, white cloth in her obi once again. Trying to understand the rest of what the girl was saying through her still limited vocabulary of Japanese, she failed miserably at making sense of what she had just heard. It didn't mean that she could speak the language better that her vocabulary had improved. Instead, she latched onto the most pertinent of all the girl's statements, "What did you say?"

"Daddy will --"

"No the one before that," Shampoo clarified, confused with Hanae's statement. Her heart constricted at the words she flung at Ranma on the day that she finally saw Hanae. "I thought Ranma was your father."

Shaking her head, Hanae smiled sadly. "It was daddy who killed my father on Happosai's orders. He was also the reason for my mother's death."

Shampoo stared at the child whose identity she had mistakenly placed.

For the first time since she met Hanae she regarded her features without the bias of hatred and envy.

The only reason why it had been so easy to assume that Hanae was Ranma's daughter was because of the uncanny eyes, as well as the crimson red hair. But the hair could have come from her father's side of the family, and the eyes were Rian's and not Ranma's.

Although her hair was a deceptive shade of red which was the farthest from Rian's shade of rich blue-black, it was Rian's eyes that stared back at her. Rian's eyes, whose color seemed to change from angry green to peaceful blue. It was something she associated with Ranma, which was why it was so easy to pin him as her father. In retrospect, that was where the similarities between the two of them ended.

Hanae was blessed with all of her mother's delicate features, including the thick eyelashes which Rian frowned upon for being the sole reason that men courted her. Rian's high cheekbones adorned her face, although the strong chin was probably inherited from her father. This girl, did in fact, look like a miniature Rian rather than a miniature Ranma.

In fact, when seen that way, this girl and Ranma did not look alike at all. The only reason everyone thought so was because Ranma's cursed form had flaming red hair. A trait they all thought she passed to Hanae. Ranma protected the lie so strongly that no one looked closely enough to notice that the eyes weren't grayish blue but ocean green. Her hair wasn't the burnished bronze of reds, browns and golds that Nodoka and Ranko shared with age, but rather, it was a strong shade of red hued black. He capitalized on their similarities that everyone forgot their differences, that everyone overlooked the fact that the similarities weren't similarities at all.

"And you love Ranma?" Shampoo asked in bewilderment, not understanding what motivated the young girl that Rian had birthed into the world. She would have surely vowed vengeance against her father's killers, surely would have hunted them down until their blood watered her mother's grave.

"He doesn't believe it either, 'ntie Shampoo. So he made a b'rgain with me. When I grow up and become good in martial arts, he said I could challenge him to the death. But I have to be really good." For one so young to make a bargain that would pit her life against Ranma, she was entirely too cheerful for it. She said the words as if she were describing a walk in the park.

"And will you?" Shampoo asked the seemingly happy-go-lucky child she had just met. The daughter of the rival she had always admired and loved. An Amazon. One of her own. The daughter of Rian. The daughter of a Lost One.

Hanae looked at Shampoo, and her heart clenched at the soulful gaze that her niece conveyed. Of a niece she never knew, borne out of a woman whom she never really fully understood. "If you were in my place, would you?"

"I --" Shampoo shrugged as she brought the child closer and gave a big hug. She tried to convey all that she could in that moment, of all the words that she could not have said, and all the feelings she could not share. "I honestly don't know, Hanae. She was my cousin, I loved her greatly."

"But will you kill daddy for her, 'ntie Shampoo?" Hanae asked with persistence.

Shampoo shook her head, she was crying once again. This time, more than a single drop fell from her brown eyes. She tried not to let the tears show in her voice, although she failed at the attempt miserably. "I loved him too, Hanae."

"Revenge won't give me back my parents tomorrow. It will make me lose my father today," Hanae whispered wisely as she stayed still while Shampoo cried and clung on to her desperately. "I can't live in the past 'ntie. That's why I have to be happy. Will you be happy for me too?"

There was a moment of silence as Shampoo pulled away from the small girl Ranma had raised. The little girl, whom weeks ago she had hated for robbing her of the person she loved, had also given them back.

Compared to the burden that this child had to carry day by day, Shampoo's own depression shrank and became all too trivial in her own eyes. Agreeing was not difficult. "Yes, Hanae. I will try to be happy for you."

* * *

Ifuku immediately went to Akane's side when she found out that the woman was back in the house and was poisoned. Ifuku assumed the position as Akane's maid, immediately seeking a way to make Akane's sickness at least a lesser bit of hell, especially since she had been in a similar position just that morning. 

Nabiki was surprised when she saw her there tending to Akane. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "Will your brother disapprove of your servitude to Akane?"

Ranma looked at Nabiki, bewildered at the question. He was not told that she was a samurai yet. Shampoo did not have the details on why they were in that cell with her. Ifuku shook her head as she replaced the cloth on Akane's forehead. "I've known nothing else. My previous life is a distant memory, too far gone to remember, yet too strong to forget. My brother will not care that I serve your house, as long as I am able to serve his."

Bringing over a small bowl of pungent liquid Nabiki propped Akane up to help her drink it. None of the liquid was wasted, Nabiki made sure that the girl drank drop per unpleasant drop.

"You have found what poisons were used?" Ranma asked mildly, his attention already on his wife, though he stood near the doorway. "Are you sure?"

"It's always a gamble," Nabiki admitted as she placed Akane back on the bed. She sighed. "I'm inclined to believe that Kodachi is indeed within another person's body. It would explain that unknown samurai's death, and Akane's poisoning."

It would explain everything but how.

There was doubt in Ranma's eyes, but he did not object. He did not show any doubt in Nabiki's judgment when there were other people. They were always united upon questioning. Always showed support with every decision, especially in front of others.

"She'll be well in a few days," Nabiki reassured her brother as she stood up from administering her treatment and brought the bowl carrying the antidote with her.

Kodachi was adept in mixing potions. She probably catalogued every poisonous plant brought up in her greenhouse and extracted in her laboratory. Mixtures of toxins were her specialty, and whether it was through ingestion, inhalation or skin absorption, Kodachi had already managed to create them all.

It had forced Nabiki to study every known antidote to every known poison. Ranma smiled ruefully at her. "I'm sure thankful for Lin Ke."

Nabiki grimaced at the name of the Chinese herbalist from Yaocaicun, another name from their past. "Speak for yourself, brother. I'd rather not have known her with all that Mandrake and 'Flower of Womanhood' crap."

"She **did** give you a lot of information on curing poisons," Ranma reminded her as she took a folded paper from her obi and gave it to Ifuku. "She was a real lifesaver."

"Yeah, **after** her twin Pin Ke managed to poison the two of us." The two attacked them over a grievance that Shampoo managed to incur. Nabiki was adept enough to remember most of the medicinal value of the plants Lin Ke had thrown at her when Pin Ke's attacks went awry. "You make it sound like we sat down over a cup of tea and traded medicinal secrets. It was more like a survival camp."

Ranma snorted. Learning through their ten year training trip had never been just 'sitting down over a cup of tea'. Every day brought opponents, new rivals, new grudges, all of whose attacks they needed to learn quickly and assess accurately. Their survival camp was lethal -- they were allowed no mistakes.

After Nabiki told Ifuku on what to do with the powder she had just handed over, she glared at Ranma. "This isn't funny, you know."

He smiled. "There's nothing wrong in seeing a little bit of humor in everything. We have to live day to day, else we won't live at all. At least they taught us that nana-kusa gayu isn't exactly a cure-all drug."

Nana-kusa gayu. It was porridge with seven kinds of spring herbs, believed capable of preventing and curing every known disease. They tried to use it as a block against Pin Ke, and were paralyzed days after. Ranma reminded her that she hadn't instructed anybody to cook that yet. It was tradition to eat it on the seventh day of the New Year. Pushing festivities out of her mind, Nabiki sighed at his sudden mood change. "You still have a maniac that's after your wife, you know." Ranma sobered up after that, all humor he had professed to have disappearing with concern over Akane's welfare. "If what Shampoo tells us is true... then she really isn't my wife. And that maniac is."

"You win some, you lose some." Nabiki looked at Ifuku, whom they had completely neglected in the conversation. That was fine when Ifuku had been an ordinary peasant... now that she was samurai, politeness demanded she be included. "I'm sorry Ifu -- Shori-san. I'm sure Sara would gladly take over your task."

Ifuku shook her head as she held on to the packet that had been entrusted to her. "Ifuku is my name, Lady Nabiki. I've said it to you my lady, and I will say it again, serving has been the only life I have ever known. I will take care of Lady Akane until my brother takes me home."

Nabiki was disconcerted by this but let Ifuku do as she pleased. Ranma turned to walk out of the door, already motioning her to join him. She assumed it was to sort things out, make plans for tomorrow.

She just hoped that the second day of the New Year would bring more luck than the first had.

* * *

Sohin nursed his shoulder as he half lugged Omokage through the small forest. The samurai was bigger and more muscled than he was, which made tree hopping out of the question. He was not about to add to his injuries while fleeing from his enemies. 

Groaning, Sohin looked at his companion. They had been running for what seemed like hours, although it must have just been a few minutes for the moon had not moved much from the last time he had looked up. They had been near Rose Brier when they had attacked. The gates leading to the estate should loom over their heads soon.

His thoughts traveled to Ifuku as he trudged through the forest slowly. Ifuku was fast, but so was Kikuko, and Kikuko was trained and skilled enough to lead. He winced as pain shot through his arm, reminding him just how much he wanted to die at the moment.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts reminding himself that death wishes did not help his cause nor should they be entertained as he moved on a steady pace towards Rose Brier,. It was no use thinking of death at a time of desperation.

Shifting Omokage, he wondered if he should have just left the man, and gone back for him when he had more help. He was extremely heavy, and Sohin wasn't used to carrying a man this bulky at such a distance. He was thankful that he was at least gifted with strength if not the speed that the Saotomes had shown.

He couldn't stop, because he feared that some of Kikuko's men might find him. He killed the two Tendo samurai that had ganged up on him, but he wasn't sure about Omokage's opponents. He just found Omokage dead to the world. Fortunately, the man was just unconscious.

'Besides he's my ticket to Saotome territory,' Sohin thought, pausing over a root that almost tripped him. Sohin wasn't known in Saotome territory, but Omokage was. 'Just my luck if they think **I** killed the bastard.'

It **was** highly probable since he was an unknown entity. Some men might just kill him off the bat without questions asked. It lessened complications that way. He just hoped he had enough energy to run one more time if they tried.

'Ifuku, you better be alive,' he threatened, as if his thoughts would assure Ifuku's safety. 'And if she were alive? What then? Would she have told the Saotomes our secrets? Would she have told them our lies?'

'Sometimes being dead is a whole lot less complicated than being alive. Actually being dead **is** a whole lot less complicated than being alive. Not just **sometimes**.' He took a deep breath. 'This is not helping. Not that anything is helping,' he thought as he moved. Being sarcastic when alone was a dreadful habit he'd picked up when he was training. So was the rambling.

"You there!" a shout from the trees.

Sohin barely heard the words because of his wandering thoughts and maybe because of fatigue caused disorientation. Whatever the reason, he moved through the forest without heeding the hails. "Who goes there?"

A warning shot was fired at him embedding at the soil between his feet. He stared at it for a while before its meaning finally sunk in. He dropped Omokage to the ground from exhaustion and held the sword he'd stolen from Kikuko in the air, hoping that they would not mistake the gesture as a threat rather than a signal for concession.

"I need to talk with Lord Saotome. Tell them it's --" He trailed off at the name. It was times like this he hated being just 'Sohin'. Just Sohin was not going to cut it. At least not for these samurai to take him seriously, especially since he was bringing a half-dead Saotome samurai along.

Making up his mind, he spoke again, "Tell them it's Tendo Sohin." One samurai approached from one of the dark corners of the forest to take his sword.

He was not killed, which was a good sign. Another took Omokage and carried him slung across his shoulders like a bag of rice. Finally another samurai took hold of his hands and bound them while pushing him in the direction of the Saotome house.

He looked towards the lights with grim determination and a heartfelt plea to Ifuku: 'Be at the house, and please, please, be alive.'

-

Ifuku ran down the steps when she found out that Sohin had arrived. As soon as she saw him, she ran to him crying, and then slowed down, her head bowed to hide her tears. There were too many people watching for her throw her arms around him. Too many people watching for her to press her lips on his cheek to show that she was thankful for his presence, thankful that he'd reached her alive.

It was Nabiki who cleared her throat. Uneasy to watch the scene and yet, both she and Ranma were spectators to the meeting.

She would have preferred it if she didn't have to watch the display. However, it was Nabiki and Ranma who Sohin had asked for first and it was their house and fief. Trying to ease the tension present in the room, Nabiki asked, "Sohin, would you take your wife to her brother?"

Ifuku's eyes searched Sohin's own. Her eyes already dry from the tears she had, just moments ago, shed. Nabiki sensed that there was an unspoken question between the two of them that had nothing to do with her question and everything to do with what they were running away from.

Giving a resigned sigh, Sohin nodded and looked away. Ifuku turned slowly towards the Saotome twins, her hands to her sides, clutching her kimono desperately. She had changed the white garments the monks had given her into one of her own plain servant's kimono earlier. Nabiki would have offered one of hers, but she sensed the move would only insult the proud woman.

"We have not been completely honest with you," Ifuku whispered as she looked at the twins, her eyes imploring the two of them to understand what she was about to reveal. "When I was young, my siblings and I were separated. My sister, Akane, was given to a neighboring clan, and my brother, Eruchii-sama, was sent to the monks... to train for his heritage."

The logic to the separation was simple. The children had been frightened, pursued under the threat of death. Three children would be easier to spot than one child. Ifuku's foster mother entered as a servant to the Saotome Clan, pretending that Ifuku was her child.

Since it had been Genma's practice to leave the twins at a monastery so that they could be trained in the monk's fighting skills, Ranma's first interest, as most of his other interest goes, went to that aspect of Ifuku's story. "He knows how to fight?"

Nodding, Ifuku continued with her story, "When I was thirteen, some Tendo samurai came looking for us in this territory.

"Lady Chisei, the Tendo patriarch's legal wife, had not given up so easily in the search, and when all else had seemed lost she looked into the angle that three frightened children might have taken. They looked for children who were suddenly adopted by families."

Sohin moved closer to Ifuku to show his support. He did not interrupt, nor did he appear to be listening. The story brought out his own demons, locking him in a silent battle while the truth unfolded. His lips continually inched to a frown that by the time Ifuku was telling the tale of Akane's whereabouts, his face had contorted to both a mask of pain and an equal amount of anger.

Nabiki wondered why Sohin would be affected by an event that happened long before he met his wife, and then remembered that Ifuku had told them Sohin had been Akane's guardian. Their flight must have also been his escape.

"I was more endangered than my sister because she was hidden too far north. Because I was in such grave danger of being found out, we decided that I should marry." Ifuku smiled a bit, although both the twins did not understand how her marital status would change her situation. "We expected that Chisei would not expect the Tendo heirs to marry, because father had betrothed each of us to children of adjacent clans. It was political and strategic."

Nabiki understood, given that she had studied Chisei closely, trying to find her link to Kodachi. "Lady Chisei wanted their lands as badly as she wanted yours. She also loved power so much that she would not understand why you would give up that same power willingly. And, it's easier to hide if your numbers were changed."

Ifuku nodded in confirmation. She then looked up to Sohin who gave her an encouraging nod before she continued. "She was also looking for three children, and when you're married, you're no longer a child."

"The marriage is false," Ifuku announced. She paused, giving them time to digest her words before she expounded, "My foster mother did not want me to marry below my station, and since no good samurai would actually marry a 'peasant' like me, we staged a good one with Sohin."

"So you just chose Sohin because he was there?" Ranma asked curiously. Not understanding why someone would go through the complicated charade of a marriage that both Ranma and Nabiki **didn't** know of but apparently, everybody else in the household knew.

Nabiki watched the two closely. Although they claimed that they were not husband and wife, there was the deep current of closeness that flowed between the two of them. It was a vein which was visible throughout the time that Nabiki had seen them together. Yet since they were separated and saw each other fleetingly and rarely, such closeness would not have emerged. No actor could fake neither the emotion that Ifuku had displayed when she actually flew down to greet Sohin, nor the trust that they had shown each other even with the suspicious marital comb in Nabiki's possession.

If these two were not wed, then they were well on the road to getting there. Her brow furrowed at the thought: a runaway heir and a gift vendor. Not an entirely displeasing idea, but a radical one nonetheless.

"Oh no... Sohin was a carefully calculated choice." Ifuku smiled as she leaned against Sohin's chest for support, which he gladly gave. "You see Sohin is --"

It was Sohin's hand against Ifuku's shoulder that had stopped her from finishing her sentence. In that instant, even without the meeting of eyes nor the parting of lips, words were spoken between the two of them.

Ifuku stopped talking immediately, letting Sohin take part in the story for the first time. She bowed her head low, lending weight to the importance of the next words. When the twin's attention shifted, Sohin spoke.

"I'm Tendo-noh-Eruchii," Sohin finished for her. The admission caused a small stir between the twins. "I **am** her brother."

-

Nabiki held her hand gingerly as she went towards her room. She could not believe she had acted out against Sohin. 'Eruchii,' she corrected herself. If her brother had suspicions before, he was bound to have them all cleared by now.

She grimaced, she should not have reacted as strongly as she had, especially not in front of his **sister** and her own brother. When she had rounded the corner towards her room she stopped and found Sohin leaning against her doors.

She had forgotten he knew where her room was. There was a red mark on his face, visible even from a few arm-lengths away. "You're blocking my way."

"Don't tell me you're mad over this," there was exasperation in his voice, but he did not move from his position and eyed her wearily. "You have to understand, it was something that I had to do. We would have died."

"I don't question what you did," Nabiki murmured bringing her hands slowly towards to her side then looking at Sohin's eyes. She smiled lightly although she knew it was fake to anyone who knew her. "Does understanding your motives make me hurt any less?"

He didn't answer, and Nabiki nodded. "So it's best, Eruchii-sama, if we avoid each other completely from now on. I have nothing to give you, and you have nothing to offer to me."

"You lied to me too, you know," he accused before she completely passed him to reach for her room. "You, my lady, are also married."

Nabiki had stopped when she was side-by-side with him, although she did not look at him directly, nor did he turn towards her. "I never lied to you, Eruchii-sama. You presume too much when you think you should know of my own marriage when you did not deem me worthy to know of yours."

"Lady Na--"

"No not Nabiki, Eruchii-sama," Nabiki corrected lightly, moving past him towards her room. "I am Lady Ikkasei."

He caught her hand before she could fully step into her room. "Tendo Nabiki sounds more appropriate, do you not think so?"

"Unfortunately, she also doesn't exist." She looked wearily at the hand that was preventing her from moving. "Please let me go Eruchii-sama. I am tired from the ordeal, and I have more things to check before I can rest. You're keeping me from my duties."

"Those are Lady Saotome's duties," Sohin reminded her sternly. Then in a softer voice he repeated, "My name is Sohin."

"I'd rather not use something which was used to deceive me," Nabiki protested then raised her hand to take Sohin's own off of her arm. "Forget what you thought happened. I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" Instead of letting her go he took both of her shoulders and turned her towards him. "Is that all you can say? We will probably never see each other again, and all you can say is you're sorry?"

"Well what do you expect me to say?" Nabiki challenged him, not pulling back from his grip. "As you've pointed out quite conveniently, I am **married**. I am **married** to the father of my son. What part of that don't you understand?"

Sohin stopped momentarily, her son's existence was probably new to him. They knew each other for one whole month, and he expected to know everything about her. He expected too much. "Which part about that irritates you more, my lady, the fact that you're married or the fact that I'm not willing to understand?" he goaded her with familiar words.

"My marriage **obviously**," she said in long drawn-out syllables to further bother him. It had its desired effect. He clamped his mouth shut in a way that suggested deeply controlled anger. "Sayonara, Eruchii-sama. Long farewells are not among my better assets."

"There's always room for improvement. A decent farewell, remember?" he reminded her shifting his hands towards her upturned face. Nabiki evaded the touch by turning her face away. Reluctantly, Sohin let her go. Then, completely contradicting his earlier statement that they would probably never meet again, he said, "Not sayonara, Lady Nabiki. We **will** meet again."

With that, he let her go and disappeared beyond the hallways.

* * *

Kodachi stealthily crept inside of the Saotome house with no problems while Ranma and Nabiki were both distracted with what Ifuku was revealing to them. Whatever her former maid would tell them, she was sure that they were going to be held up for hours. 

The twins did not believe everything easily. They had seen too many lies to believe anything at all. Too mistrustful of human nature not to question what Ifuku would reveal. And Kodachi was betting Ifuku would reveal her true identity. She moved room to room, searching for Akane. She did not have to search long.

Kodachi blew out the lights once inside the room. Although her sight was hampered in the dark, at least not every samurai that would walk by would notice that there was someone else in the room. It would buy her some time to escape. She hoped it would not come to that, though. Or at least she would have already finished her task before the samurai walked in on them.

There were two things Kodachi wanted when she had been 'resurrected'. One was to continue her plan of bringing Ranma Saotome to destruction. The other was to get her body back.

Fingering the vial that would successfully give her the latter, she frowned. The woman who freed her from her prison gave it to her and told her that it would bring her body back. But it had not been easy. It needed her body to reject the soul that currently inhabited. This meant that Akane needed to be dying or close to death for the serum to work. A tricky concept since she didn't want to kill her body and make it uninhabitable by any form.

The body needed to be devoid of a soul for hers to inhabit it, the woman had said as she handed the last 'gift' when she had visited her in her regeneration state. A weakened spirit would be easier to push out than one willing to fight. "Too bad I wasn't here when you were willing to die, ne, Akane-san?"

Uncapping the small glass vial Kodachi propped Akane up and made sure some of the liquid trickled down Akane's throat. After which she drank the rest of the liquid that was left and then discarded it carelessly on the floor. It tasted sweet, which surprised Kodachi, because it was her experience that anything related to the arcane always tasted awful.

"What now?" Kodachi muttered as she took in Akane's condition. The poison she gave her had been lethal enough to kill, but not at the speed she had initially let Akane believe. No she had not chosen the drug for its speed. In fact the lethal poisons were always slow to kill. She chose the poison because of the cure, and the cure's side-effects. And Nabiki was familiar with the cure that went along with it.

Always leave an escape.

It gave killing an edge. Kodachi smiled.

The room was suddenly spinning. She got to her knees and slowly sat down. She brought one hand against her head and moaned. "If I ever survive this, I swear I am never going to try to switching bodies again," she muttered.

-

Akane moaned to wakefulness, bringing her hand to her head. It was throbbing tremendously. There was also a nagging sense of wrongness about her body that she couldn't place.

Dismissing that as irrelevant for the moment, she massaged her temple for its pain to go away. She had not expected Nabiki's cure to work so soon. She had thought that after she had been given medicine it would take a few days to recover. At least make her a bit weak. That weakness was lacking in her now. Other than the minor headache she was having, she felt fine.

Stopping the ministrations on her temple she brought her hand down and sighed. "Maybe a bath would help," she pondered out loud, and then frowned. Her voice sounded different to her ears. Deeper than the one she had been used to. Dismissing it as a side-effect of the drug, she pushed herself up... and wobbled a bit.

Cursing, she took a few steps before steadying herself. It reminded her of a child learning how to walk. The drug messed up her sense of balance. "Screw around with my already messed up brain, huh?" Akane muttered as she tested her steps, finally getting a hang of the simple process of walking.

She opened the shoji only to bump into Ranma and Nabiki. She looked immediately to the floor, blushing a bit. Although she could not recall what she asked Ranma in her fevered state, she was sure that somewhere along the lines she had managed to embarrass herself yet again.

She didn't know what to tell him, so she moved on to Nabiki. At least it had been easier for her to talk to Nabiki. "Uh, thanks for the antidote, Nabiki-san. It worked wonders. I just **really** need a bath."

The twins blinked at that, which she had missed entirely because of her preoccupation with the floor, and then looked at her. "Just... who are you... exactly?" That had been from Ranma.

"What?" Akane asked puzzled, looking up from the floor. Both of the twins regarded her with a bit of suspicion. "Are you joking?"

"Not particularly," Nabiki drawled, her eyebrow raised, as she awaited the answer to her question. "Hurry up, we don't have the entire night, and it's New Year. We have a lot of things to do, prayers to say, servants to send off to shrines, mothers to appease. You get the idea."

"It's me," Akane answered her eyebrows knit together in confusion, her hand pressed to her heart for emphasis. "Akane, you know sick girl, poisoned by --"

"Kodachi!" Akane identified the voice as Ifuku's. Sohin had come up behind the agitated Ifuku and put his hands on her shoulders to soothe her. Sohin regarded her suspiciously.

"Yes, that's right, girl poisoned by Kodachi," Akane finished with a smile.

Nabiki looked at her dubiously, and Ranma took her shoulders and spun her back around into the dark room towards the direction where she came from. "If you're Akane..." he paused, pointing to the woman who was lying down on the room she just exited before continuing, "... then who's that?"

Akane was bewildered but looked at the figure Ranma was pointing at. She looked like she was in deep sleep, and she was wearing one of the kimonos Ranma had ordered for her to wear after her 'amnesia'. Her eyes traveled to the face, and she gasped at the face she had been accustomed to for the months of her stay in Rose Brier. "Oh my god," Akane whispered.

She was staring back at Kodachi Kuno's face. Something that wasn't unusual in other circumstances. But this was the face that she had studied in the mirror endlessly. Her hand flew to her face immediately and then pulled at her hair. It was short, shoulder-length. Pulling a handful of the strands to her face she noticed they weren't Kodachi's curled locks, and were the blue black shade of her own instead. She almost flew down to the small hand mirror in the room to see her face. The woman's face that stared back at her was something she thought she would never see again.

She spun around to look at the twins and then at Ifuku. "I'm me again."

Nabiki was immediately on to her patient bringing her hand up to her head. She lit up the lamp that had been extinguished in the room and took in Kodachi's general appearance. "She's not dead."

"Okay... now what do we do with you?" Ranma muttered to Akane.

Still not having gotten over her exhilaration at losing Kodachi's body to regain her own, Akane had not considered the consequences of the lost form. "A larger mirror, I want to see my entire face!" She was as giddy as a child receiving present on New Year's Day. Then she giggled again, it **was** New Year.

"You're behind the border attacks. Why?" Nabiki demanded from inside, leaving her patient again to focus on their new visitor. "Is it bravery that makes you enter Rose Brier or just plain stupidity?"

Reeling from the insult Akane turned to Nabiki and frowned. "I'm not --"

"She's the one who took me this morning," Kodachi's voice wafted from the dimly lit room. All eyes moved towards the girl who was weakly trying to get up from the futon. "She almost killed me."

"**I **was the one kidnapped this morning by Kikuko and Koji!" Akane protested she turned to look at Ranma. "You believe me don't you?"

There was distrust in his eyes. Akane turned to Nabiki, and whereas her twin had reservations, her eyes showed open anger. Finally Akane looked at Ifuku. "Don't tell me you don't believe me either?"

Ifuku looked away. Finally understanding the full impact of her sudden 'good fortune', Akane felt helplessness catch up with her. Of course the truth was difficult to believe.

It was just like her amnesia.

She was going to have one hell of a time proving it. She was telling the truth -- but when had the truth **ever** been on her side, anyway?

* * *

Cologne entered the Saotome house. It was eerily silent for New Year. The Japanese were so fond of bonenkai parties, year-forgetting parties, that she was sure the Saotome house would be full of their vassals. In desperate times, people clung to moments where they could forget what ailed them, even for a while. 

It was a surprise to find that other than the two samurai standing guard at the gate, Rose Brier was empty. The samurai said that its household help, which consisted of families, were let off early. The decorations were long since forgotten, the pine kadomatsu with its bamboo and plum which hung at the gates had been trampled by an unsuspecting guest. Someone had tried to arrange it again, but it still looked lopsided to the eye. Cologne wondered if it was going to survive the two weeks it was supposed to remain.

Looking up at the sacred rope hung towards the front entrance to Rose Brier, Cologne wondered if it had succeeded in its job of keeping evil spirits away. Sometimes, evil spirits were better than their living counterparts.

No one greeted her at the doorstep of the house, and she had been the one to find the twins in the hallways. They did not seem surprised to see her, and both of them looked weary to the bone instead of cheerful from the holiday. They realized her presence at the same time, spun around to face her and stopped to greet her happy New Year.

"You look grim, students," Cologne noted as she looked them over. It was not entirely the way that one should spend the New Year. Nabiki was carrying a basin of water and some towels. Ranma looked like he'd been running back and forth from room to room. "If this is how the rest of your year starts, I hope you're prepared for more damage control."

Neither of them particularly appreciated her wry humor but didn't speak out. Had they been the children she had taught in China, that comment would have at least sparked the desire to hit her with her own cane. Growing old tended to make her students less fun.

"Mother seems to be taking all of this in stride," Nabiki commented as she moved towards the outside to empty the wash water and get fresh water. She had yet to take care of Omokage, and neither she nor Ranma had heard his story yet. "She is with Shampoo and the children, matriarch. They're celebrating the New Year."

"I don't need to celebrate. I've had more than a hundred years of celebration," Cologne declared as she turned to Ranma, who was in the process of getting some supplies from a closet filled with a mismatched first aid kit. In trying to help Nabiki with both her patients' cure, and keeping the house from falling apart, he looked completely exhausted. "You two need help more than celebration."

"I'll take these supplies to Omokage, Nabiki. I'm going to check on our mystery girl and Tendo Kikuko," Ranma excused himself as he moved out of the hallway. On afterthought he said. "Lady --" He faltered at the name. "My wife was poisoned recently, matriarch. I would appreciate it if you looked at her."

Poisoned when no doctor was around because of ganjitsu? Well planned.

Nabiki started on her own tasks as well. Both were too busy to notice if the pleasantries exchanged were impolite. Nabiki suddenly remembered Shampoo as she started towards the well to fetch some water, so she turned around to call to Cologne, "Elder! I thought you were worried about your granddaughter?"

"You said she was celebrating," Cologne answered looking at Nabiki affectionately. "She must be fine. There are other more pressing matters, Nabiki, and my great-granddaughter won't die on me."

Nabiki nodded and then left. Deciding to help however she could, Cologne proceeded on her first task, which was trying to cure Kodachi. And since Ranma had been too busy to remember that Cologne did not know the whereabouts of his wife, she needed to look for her.

Her search did not take long. She found Kodachi in one of the dark rooms of the house. The woman was in an upright position on her futon staring mindlessly at the shoji where Cologne had entered. From her general survey, Kodachi seemed fine. She did not understand what the twins were so worried about.

"Matriarch Cologne, what an honor to have you look after me." Kodachi immediately snapped to attention when Cologne had closed the door, and yet Cologne felt uneasy. There was something in the tone of her voice that bothered the old woman immensely. Kodachi made a small bow for her. "I was assured that Nabiki knew what she was doing."

Cologne lit one of the lamps, bathing the room with its yellow glow. As her eyes adjusted to the light, Cologne turned to look at Kodachi. The patient was sitting almost serenely by the futon, a queen waiting for her subject to bask in her radiance. Hopping towards the girl with her cane, Cologne squinted at her. The close scrutiny did not unsettle her. In fact, the woman met Cologne's gaze with one of her own.

Reaching out a hand to feel Kodachi's temperature, Cologne was mildly surprised when the girl tried to slap it away. Kodachi's left hand did not hit hers, since Cologne had excellent reflexes. But Cologne had been surprised at the action, reminiscent of Kodachi's older days.

Even before Kodachi became Ranma's wife, Kodachi knew of Ranma's multiple fiancées. She knew about the existence of the Amazons, and treated them a force to be reckoned with. She detested the matriarch for the simple reason that Cologne could not be beaten with either the fist or the mind.

Kodachi, suddenly realizing what she just did or at least tried to do, had the decency to blush. How much of the subservience she showed was pretend, Cologne could not guess. It was the one moment that solidified Cologne's diagnosis of the girl's condition.

"I see you have your amnesia cured, Kodachi," Cologne diagnosed as she pogoed away from the girl to see her clearly. Her mind was troubled over what she had just found out as she stared intently at the hand that had attempted to swipe her own. "A miraculous recovery. I thought the amnesia was permanent."

Kodachi did not show any outward reaction. Cologne had suspected she wouldn't, as Kodachi had mastered pretense in childhood. Her voice was hushed, as if she was uttering a secret that only the two of them shared. "What do you mean, matriarch?"

"Nothing, Kodachi. It must be astonishing to have your old memories back." Cologne wondered if Kodachi would lash out at her, for the girl looked desperate. Yet something held her back, and perhaps it was the knowledge that there was no way Kodachi could win in a fight against her, even with her tricks. Cologne had long since known that Kodachi was a coward at best. Cowards strike only when they believe they are safe.

When Ranma entered the room, Cologne was contemplating how to reveal that tidbit of information. His arrival was timely, for she did not know how Kodachi would react when backed into a corner. "Sorry, am I disturbing?" he asked the Amazon.

"Not at all son-in-law." Cologne motioned him in with her free hand. She looked at her hand again, then at Kodachi. Apparently he had finished his trip to both Omokage and whomever else he needed to interrogate on the sketchy matter of today's events. "What is it, boy?"

"Akane, what happened out there?" Ranma asked his wife, not bothering that Cologne was there. "That girl claims a lot of things she cannot prove, and you claim she wanted to kill you. She doesn't look like a girl who would kill."

Kodachi raised her chin arrogantly, an action Cologne had not seen recently from the aforementioned woman. Her tone was self assured when she answered Ranma's statement with her own. "You do not look like a man who would kill either, yet you would not hesitate to kill me if the opportunity provided itself." Suddenly, as if remembering something she bowed low and brought a hand to her eye, as if wiping tears away. "She tried to kill me, Ranma! I am just afraid, that's all."

Cologne looked at Ranma's reaction and frowned. Ranma still didn't know how to handle crying women. Not that his wife was **really** crying, but a few crocodile tears were enough for Ranma.

"You said a girl claimed to be your wife?" Cologne asked breaking the moment Kodachi was creating. She was thankful she had not moved out of the room -- who knows what Kodachi could have made Ranma do by then? "Could I speak to her?"

Ranma looked confused at the request. It was Kodachi who shouted back, "No!"

Ranma was torn between apologizing for his wife and just leaving the room. At the vehement protest coming from the supposedly weak girl, Cologne's resolve to meet the mystery woman intensified. Cologne gave Ranma a small hit on the head, reminiscent of the days he had spent as a trainee under her wing. "Come on, young one. Let us see to this impostor."

Kodachi raised her hand to stop them but did not continue. If she wanted not to be discovered, then she would have to lie low. She would have to pretend, and whether she liked it or not, Akane had been more 'agreeable' when she had resided in her body. She took a deep breath.

She had to pretend.

For her plans to work, she had to pretend.

* * *

Cologne followed Ranma's movement through the hallways, and entered alongside him when he had opened the door that led to Akane's temporary quarters. Nabiki was there, arms folded across her chest, staring at the girl sitting on one of the zabutons in the center of the room, as if looking at Akane would clear their current dilemma. 

Akane's eyes lit up when she saw who her visitor was. "Matriarch Cologne!" Akane treated the matriarch with respect and was happy that the woman was there. The woman held sympathy for her plight and at times seemed to understand that she was just trying to prove the truth. She even defended Akane against her own granddaughter.

Cologne looked Akane over silently and nodded, instantly recognizing the girl that had named herself Murasaki a few months before. Questions arose from her presence, much as the puzzle of Kodachi's recovery from amnesia. This girl, who claimed that she was Akane, a name Kodachi had claimed only hours before as hers. "And your name would be?"

Akane looked at Ranma before answering the question directed at her. The support she wished to gain from that look was not given, and Ranma was looking at the old woman instead of her. "Akane, Matriarch."

"You change names as frequently as a snake changes its skin, Akane," Cologne said after a while of speculation. Her words were drawn out slowly for both emphasis and thought. "What will your name be the next time we meet?"

'Kodachi met Cologne in my body?' Akane thought furiously, and though she rebelled at the idea, it would not change the fact that Kodachi probably did a lot more things with her body than she liked. "I'm sorry, matriarch."

Raising her eyebrow, Cologne turned to her two former students. "Kodachi's marital comb, Ranma, where is it?"

His hand quickly went inside his pocket and produced the item Cologne was asking for. "I've been keeping it close ever since someone attempted to steal it. Why do you want it, Matriarch?"

Nabiki's eyes widened, realization suddenly dawning on her as Ranma handed the comb to Cologne. She quickly turned to Akane. "**You** tried to steal the comb! You're Murasaki."

Akane shook her head as she denied the accusation. "I **never** tried to steal anything!" She turned to Cologne again, willing the matriarch to believe the truth in her words.

Cologne palmed the marital comb, a movement Akane remembered from the time Cologne had tested the mysterious mirror-shattering rose found in her room some months before. "Do you recognize this, Akane?" She threw the small comb towards Akane, who caught it with her right hand just as the comb was about to hit her face.

Akane opened her palm to find an exquisite marital comb. Her fingers trailed the dragon carved onto its arch, joining the rose which it was curled up against. She looked up finding all of her inquisitors' eyes were on her. "It's a beautifully-made comb, matriarch, one similar to a gift I received just this morning, but one that I do not recognize."

Ranma's eyes narrowed. "I gave my wife a similar comb this morning."

Akane gasped indignantly at the accusation in his voice. If she claimed recognition then she stole it. If she didn't recognize it, then he hadn't given her the gift this morning. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Ranma adorned her hair with the comb immediately after giving it to her. It had been too dark, and she had been too tired to examine it that evening. The next morning, she was going to look at it after her bath, but her kidnapping interrupted.

"I know how I can solve your dilemma," Cologne interrupted, stopping the argument as it started, watching Akane keenly. Her reaction to the comb was of genuine surprise, something which could not have happened if she had been the one who stole the ornament. Yet there was no denying the fact that it was this girl who had stood before her months ago, with Shampoo right at her tail. "Bring your wife, this girl, Ifuku and Shampoo to the dojo."

The twins, trusting their former teacher immensely, followed the instructions without question. They looked at each other first before Ranma disappeared into the corridors, and Nabiki turned to Akane. "Well, shall we go?"

-

Nabiki looked at the two women standing in the middle of the dojo. Although Kodachi was still recovering from the poison, she looked miraculously well. Her stance did not betray the weakness that she, just moments ago, had shown. Ranma stood beside her while Cologne looked the two women over.

The twins stood silently watching as Cologne scrutinized the two women in question. Finally, she addressed the twins. "I cannot determine who is telling the truth between the two, but I have talked things over with the Saotomes."

No such talk occurred, not since Cologne disappeared into the dojo when they were rounding up the people she requested. Neither of the two refuted her words though, and her gaze told them not to. Cologne continued with her small speech, "In the Amazon Village, there is an obsolete but simple task we assign to find out who, between two women, is the liar."

Ranma and Nabiki looked at each other, they knew many ways from the Amazon Village, but they did not claim to know everything. Whenever disputes arose, it was settled with a meeting of the elders, followed with a barrage of other tests if it were serious enough to merit them. Most of those tests were fights in the battlefield. Most of the time, it didn't need to go to the elders, they just fought.

Nabiki was more familiar with the Amazon laws than Ranma, but they never witnessed women being tried and executed. Those types of hearings were always private, between a circle of elders and possibly a future elder candidate. It was also rare since conflicts on Amazon soil were hardly ever left for the elders to settle, especially since all Amazon women believed in their capability to fight. Truth was won with skill in battle.

The doors to the dojo opened slightly as Ifuku and Shampoo walked in silently, bowing with respect at those who were present. Cologne nodded at the women. "You have been serving Kodachi Kuno for quite some time, haven't you, Ifuku? And Shampoo, is this the girl whom I set you out to follow?"

"Yes, matriarch," Ifuku answered as she righted herself from the bow and then looked at the Saotomes who were just as bewildered as she was by the events that were beginning to unfold.

Shampoo answered with a curt nod, her eyes looking at Akane fiercely as if memorizing the face presented to them. Her voice was clear and accusing in her vernacular, " This was the woman who captured me, who knew of the curse of Jusenkyou. She is Kodachi Kuno, I do not know how or why she looks the way she does, but I am not mistaken in this. "

Cologne took this all in stride and the twins stared at Akane, their expressions grim. Cologne smiled at what she had just orchestrated. She looked through the wide array of bows and lingered over one with which Ranma himself practiced his kyujutsu bow technique and took hold of the long bow and two arrows. Had she not been on top of her cane, the seven foot bamboo bow would easily have been twice her height. Even with the help of her cane, the bow towered above her one foot six inches, which she balanced easily on her left hand.

She threw the bow towards Ranma, an incredible feat seeing the length of the weapon and her own size. She handed him two arrows that she took from the quiver as soon as she reached him. "I am sure you were trained enough by your foster father to use this, son-in-law."

He nodded at the assumption as he rubbed the shaft of the twin arrows he held in his hands. He was still unsure of what he was ding. Yet he was unable to voice a question, knowing that it would break the hold that Cologne had over the two girls that stood in trial before them. So he remained silent as he saw to the arrows.

"When Shampoo failed to kill the outsider woman who bested her, she had been tested and the fate of Jusenkyou was set upon her. She gained the form of the cat," Cologne turned back to the two women, addressing them again in the same formal voice that must have compelled all the elders in the Amazon village to listen to her. Even in her diminutive form, Cologne commanded both attention and respect. "We shall settle this the way that the Amazons do. A trial by fire. Ranma's arrows will tell us which of the two is Tendo Akane."

'This is madness,' Ranma thought as he gripped the bow. Just as soon as he believed Akane's ridiculous story about her being trapped in Kodachi's body, the person who tried to get away with her poisoning claimed to have switched their souls. **Again**. 'Pure madness.' Now Cologne was pulling a stunt he didn't even begin to comprehend.

"Son-in-law will release the arrows at the same time. Whoever catches the arrow aimed at her must be telling the truth. Whoever isn't will die. I mean catch, ladies, not **evade**. That takes care of that, doesn't it?"

The two women were stunned speechless while the twins looked at the matriarch disbelievingly as she pogoed towards them. "Well, son-in-law? I have promised them something, and we are about to push through. Aim them well. It would not do if they think I am bluffing."

'Aren't you?' Ranma wanted to shout out. Instead he took the two arrows and ripped out one of the three balancing feathers from the fletching, so that when he shot, one arrow would go to the right and the other to the left obtusely. It assured that he would hit the two girls simultaneously while he drew the bowstring only once.

He rolled the arrows against his fingertips, gauging the straightness of the nocks, not wanting his aim to falter. He then grasped the shaft at the point and at the fletching ends, twisting it to the right and to the left.

It was a precaution that Genma taught them when they were using the arrows, especially against people whom they did not really want to kill. The arrows might break and cause harm to the archer and in this case, his targets as well.

He did everything slowly, biding time, wishing someone would stop this. But everyone watched. Even Nabiki didn't move to halt the proceeding. She was frozen in this tableau of Amazon justice, where chance and his arrows would be judge and jury.

Satisfied that the arrows did not twist easily nor did he hear cracking sounds, he placed the arrows back to back so that the featherless sides were touching and drew them together on the bow. Cologne whispered to him reassuringly, "Trust me, son-in-law. I know what I'm doing."

'Do you?' Ranma wanted to howl. He wanted to shout at her, demand her explanations, but he held his voice in check. He trusted the matriarch's wisdom. He just wished that they would end up with **someone** living. He wasn't even sure if Akane was skilled enough to catch the arrow. Was the entire length of the dojo far enough for the arrow's flight to be easily caught using her skills? He taught her briefly yes, but there was never any speed training in Akane's regimen. She was solidly classified under the brute strength department.

He didn't want to kill her.

He wondered if his uncertainty showed. He turned to Nabiki, wanting her reassurance in the middle of this turmoil. But her expression was hidden behind cold calculation. He wondered what she thought of this demonstration.

Nabiki deepened her frown while Ranma aimed between the two girls, disregarding eight fundamental stages of shooting, hassetsu, and drawing the bow in front of him horizontally instead of its usual upright position, preparing to shoot at both of the women at the same time. Being a student of the Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu required him to learn every martial art available to him, including Kyudo. It was dangerous to remove one of the three feathers because in flight, the arrows rotated. He silently prayed that this experiment would end well.

"You're going along with this?" Akane demanded as she looked at Ranma and then at Cologne. Incredulous that anyone would even think of such a crazy stunt and that anyone would actually agree to perform it. "If this is some sort of twisted joke, please end it now. It's hard enough to shoot with one arrow, but with two going opposite directions? With your bow not even in a traditional position?"

Ranma drew the bow in answer to her question. Both of the women in trial eyed the arrows, Akane wearily and Kodachi defiantly. For everyone in the room, time stood still as Ranma held the bow. Nabiki was afraid to blink to find out that she missed the crucial moment.

He drew the bowstring back and loosed the arrow in one fluid motion.

-

Akane stared at her right hand as she disbelievingly looked at the arrow caught there. Her blood was flowing freely from the cut that the arrowhead produced at its high velocity.

She turned to Kodachi who was holding her own arrow in an expression that told Akane how expressly this little game tested her patience.

A silly trial all done for an arrow which was caught by both parties. Her gaze was riveted by the stunned look of Nabiki, as well as the grim look Ranma had.

Both women caught the arrows in flight just seconds before they would hit their respective marks in their chest.

There was a moment of complete silence, of stunned disbelief. From the two women because they had caught it in the first place, from the twins **because** they pushed through with the idea and from all of them because **both** the women caught the projectile.

Cologne was the first to break the eerie silence that fellfell when the whistling arrow had been stopped by both their hands from the death blow, as she clapped slowly. "An excellent show if I do say so myself. Your technique has not dimmed through the years, son-in-law. And the speed in which you both have performed was exemplary for ones who have not trained as long as my students have."

It was just as well that Ranma shot them from the end of the room rather than a closer distance. If he was closer they would have probably died trying.

Akane broke the arrow that she had held, her hand bleeding because of the movement of the shaft through her palm. It would scar, she was sure, remembrance of the lunacy that happened today and the resulting non-resolve that followed. "And what has been the purpose of all of this? We **both** caught it."

There was an uneasy silence again. It was then that they understood what the spectacle had all been about. "It wasn't the person who missed that was important..." Nabiki murmured in understanding as she stared at the two girls' arrows and then at the matriarch's wide grin. "It was how it was caught."

Nabiki finished as she watched the two women in front of her, amazed by the fact that no one had noticed that small detail before then. In fact, if Cologne hadn't pointed it out, no one would have noticed it at all.

It required a consummate actor to make the women believe that they were indeed going to be condemned if they did not catch the projectiles. Cologne smiled with pleasure that her little game worked. She turned to Nabiki and nodded to Shampoo who watched silently beside Ifuku. "You have always been quick to catch on, daughter."

"What the hell is going on here?" Kodachi demanded speaking for the first time since arriving at the dojo, waving the arrow she caught threateningly in front of her with her left hand. "I am **sick** and all you can do is play **games** with a senile old woman."

Ranma ignored Kodachi's outburst, and as the rest of the people present, he stared at the twin arrows that both women held against their hands. One woman threateningly raised it in the air, and the other gripping it tightly against her bleeding hand. He nodded as he backed out of the dojo, he understood what Cologne had presented, the glaring difference so obvious now that the two women stood side-by-side. "Ifu -- Lady Shori, please inform your brother that I will need to talk to him regarding your third sibling, Tendo Akane."

Ifuku did not take offense at his stumble over her name, and her answer did not mark her above any lowly servant of the house. "Yes, my lord," she answered obediently and excused herself from those present at the dojo. She then followed his stormy exit of the room and disappeared into the main house.

Kodachi, sensing that something important that she did not understand has transpired, threw down the arrow she had cleanly caught earlier and broke it with her heel. She made sure that her departure was even more notable than Ranma's, yet none of those left in the dojo noticed her parting.

Akane, who still did not believe the ordeal was over, stared at the wound on her hand, too shocked that she had actually survived, the arrow her blood sinuously covered falling limply from her right hand. She stared at the drops of blood that fell on the tatami, and the faraway corners of her brain mentally noted that it would need to be changed.

She turned to Cologne, Nabiki, and Shampoo, who were also intent on leaving. "I don't understand. Will we be tested again?" Akane wondered, confused at the turn of events.

Shampoo did not halt her exit from the room and was already inside the house by the time Cologne and Nabiki turned to look back. Both of them exchanged glances before Nabiki decided that it was her responsibility to explain. Cologne nodded at the silent decision of her student and left them alone for privacy.

Akane stared hard at the person who had made her life miserable in Rose Brier. Nabiki was a difficult adversary, yet as she stood there, alone facing her, there was an uncertainty that Akane had never associated with the proud woman.

Nabiki hesitated before she approached Akane. As she walked closer, Nabiki gracefully took off the long white bindings that kept her hair in the high pony-tail she had adopted when she had been scurrying around the house playing doctor just hours before.

Her hair fell loose now, below her waist as she straightened the cloth and took Akane's bleeding hand. She stared at it for a moment, as if the blood had rendered her mute, the perfect imitation of a court lady unused to seeing the dark liquid spilled.

Nabiki then wiped the warm liquid away using her sleeve, like a servant wiping the shoe of his master with his shirt. Finally deciding that the wound was as clean as it was going to get without the aid of water, she wound her hair bindings around Akane's hand while whispering, "There are a lot of things in the world I cannot explain, Akane, and a lot of things that will go unexplained. Jusenkyou is the first of many."

As Nabiki tied the ends of the bandage, she smiled at her work, but shook her head at the sight of Akane's blood already seeping through the dressing. "How you were brought to us is a mystery. For the most part, you have claimed to be Ranma's wife up to this morning, and before that you have claimed to be Akane Tendo, even Akane Hibiki. A woman from the future."

Akane's eyes grew wide, realizing that Nabiki finally believed the truth. Not just the fact that she had been, until moments ago, in the body of Kodachi Saotome ... or maybe transfigured into Kodachi Saotome, but the fact that she had been Akane Hibiki in another life. "You believe me?"

Looking up from her handiwork, Nabiki nodded, her smile bittersweet, tinged with both regret for what might have been and the knowledge of what never could be. "Yes, Akane Tendo, I believe you." She traced the gash that was underneath the bandages almost lovingly. "Because of this wound, I believe you."

Akane was dumb struck, not only because of Nabiki's words but also because of the muted unhappiness in which she said them. "But why?"

"Akane," Nabiki whispered, her voice slowly fading in the small room as if she deliberately did not want to say the words that proved the truth for all of them. She patted the right hand which she had just bandaged carefully. "Kodachi is left handed."

Akane stared at her hand, amazed that a small detail she virtually ignored could have saved her life. "Kodachi is left handed?" she repeated from sheer surprise that no one had detected the difference.

As if reading her thoughts, Nabiki let go of Akane's wounded hand. "Ranma and I are ambidextrous. We were trained by our foster father not to rely on one hand when we were young." She smiled ruefully then. "We tend to see ourselves in others. We tend to assume that our abilities can be done by everyone else."

The household probably did not notice, or assumed it was an effect of her amnesia. Ifuku probably thought that Akane was ambidextrous as well. "Left handed..." she trailed off as if repeating the words would make her realize its true value.

"Yes, she was accused of being touched by the kami, remember? Some people even said that her writing hand was a sure sign of this," Nabiki confirmed, then as an afterthought, as amends for the wrongs that she had done to this woman she said, "Thank you for the time you spent with us, Akane. It was the closest thing we were going to get to happy around this household."

And then there was nothing left to say.

Akane stood in the middle of the dojo, her left hand clutching her wounded right and stared at Nabiki, who was silently walking out of the dojo doors.

Somehow, Akane felt as the dojo doors closed behind Nabiki, a part of her life had closed around her as well.

* * *

Ranma wanted to sort out his thoughts before he made a final resolution in the matter regarding Akane. He understood what had happened in the dojo, but believing was an entirely different matter. He walked aimlessly, not knowing where to find refuge from the bitter pain that was starting, not knowing where he could find peace in the middle of the New Year's revelry. 

Amnesia was easy to believe, but the soul switch, although possible through some of the more ancient arts, was still close to unbelievable. He still didn't quite believe the Jusenkyo curse, and he was living proof of its powers.

When he finished his musings, he found himself exactly where he began: At the dojo, in the middle of the firing field, facing an equally stunned Akane who stared mutely at him.

Neither of them talked, as they both stared at each other helplessly. Even if deep down his soul understood who she was, his mind couldn't comprehend who she is. He wondered what to tell her as one thought began to overlap another. Finally, he voiced the simplest one: "Would you care to spar?"

She opened her mouth dumbstruck, not believing that of all the things that he was asking of her, he would ask her this. But Ranma's world had always been defined by the battles he lost, and trust had always been gained in between fights.

Suddenly she was his student again. It was as if the entire ganjitsu had never happened, and she was following his lead. She brought her fists up in a ready stance and he was on to her at once, parrying her blow.

"I told you, your stance is too open to attack when you receive my first blow," he lightly reprimanded breaking apart from her when she moved and tried to attack as he hit her lower midsection.

Akane's fighting skills were vastly different from Ranma's, not just because he trained more in the art, Ranma finally concluded. It was because they had different goals for practicing it.

Ranma's goal had always been to be the best martial artist in Japan. As he grew older and began collecting more challengers along with the wins, he altered that goal and decided he would be the best protector of his land. Possibly one of the better daimyos in his own right, Ranma was also the heir of the Founding School of Anything Goes Martial Arts.

He had something to protect, and that drove him to excel in martial arts. Ranma paused in his evaluation just as she tried a jab at his arm and failed. Hers was more of an artistic style than anything else. It had defensive capabilities to it and the flexibility that gave Indiscriminate Grappling its trademark, but it had that blatant display of physical ability that was carefully hidden in Ranma's own fights.

Finally, Akane kept to the basics. She kept to a simple fighting stance because she had never needed the more advanced options, and because it was the most practical to use in self-defense.

However, it was utterly useless in fighting with samurai, should she come to blows with them, and completely useless with other practitioners of Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu. Because in Anything Goes, you stagnated once you stopped combining attacks.

Ranma wasn't in a gauging mood. Although he evaluated her form, he didn't take his time with the usual feigned blows. He didn't give her the chance to move towards the offensive. He was much more skilled than she, and relentlessly pushed her against one of the walls, forcing her to lean against it, waiting for a final blow. They stood there for an eternity before he finally gave in to the question in her eyes, saying, "You've barely improved since last week."

"You believe," Akane said breathlessly looking up to his eyes in wonder.

"There's nothing left to be proven, is there? The knowledge of my gift gave me enough to doubt my sanity and Kodachi's story." He shook his head. Initially, he had thought that maybe someone, perhaps one of the samurai who guarded them that night, told her of the gift. But Cologne proved him wrong, this fight proved him wrong. "Maybe handedness gave credence to your story, but fighting style almost never lies."

His fists connected soundly against the side of the dojo trapping her head between them, beating an invisible enemy he couldn't hit. He leaned forward touching his forehead against hers. He wondered if Akane felt the desperation that exploded in his chest then. The moment when reality fell around him, crushing the newly found hope that he, just moments ago, buried. He drank from the cup of happiness too deeply, and now that he couldn't have it again, he was lost.

"Please," he implored her weakly, as though he had spent his entire energy in that one fight, as though he had spent an eternity trying to find her. He wondered what he would ask of her. 'Love? Understanding?' Instead he chose the words that were necessary, "You have to leave here."

Her answer was slow. Her breathing labored either from sparring or his proximity. "How could you ask that of me?" The unshed sheen of tears welled around the corners of her eyes, and he understood, in that moment, that she hurt equally. It could only be his luck that would demand he lose her moments after finding her.

"How could I not?" he retorted stroking a lock of her blue black hair. Then he pulled away from her reluctantly, letting the locks drift back, falling through his spread fingertips. "When I've arranged everything for your departure, I'll send Nabiki your instructions."

Before she could protest, he was already out of the dojo, wondering where to send someone who didn't have any other place to go but here.

* * *

Because Kodachi recovered from her amnesia and was demanding that all her clothes be black once again, most of the new ones that were made for Akane were sent away. Nabiki told Sara to give it to Akane. 

Akane accepted the clothes, because in a way, they were hers -- and because they were her only clothes. Dressed and cleaned from the recent trial, Akane set out to find Cologne, who was currently with the children, and Nodoka.

Akane did not notice if the children and Nodoka had gone to visit the neighbors earlier that morning, but both the children were wearing their best clothes and sitting down on one of the pillows when she found them. They were starting another one of the rituals of New Year.

Nodoka set a plate of liver and a bowl of salt in the middle of the only table in the room and then the children's grandmother too sat down to watch the event, sake cups already in her hands. Hanae, as the oldest child, went to the table first. She took her chopsticks and picked out a piece of liver from the bowl. She dipped it in a mound of salt and then ate it. After she finished, she lunged for the sake cup that Nodoka offered. Akane smiled at this antic, which reminded her of the holiday back when she was a child.

Sei, unlike Hanae, took a more leisurely pace when he ate it. Wincing, Akane noted that Sei didn't seem to mind the bitter taste of the liver. When she was young, she had always hated its taste and took the smallest piece in the bowl. Akane honestly didn't understand how eating a piece of liver on New Year could possibly give her good health **or** good luck.

Cologne noticed her by the open shoji and she stood up from the dining table to join her. The old woman was immediately on her cane to balance out the height difference and regarded Akane with a small smile. "Nostalgic, Akane?"

"A little," Akane admitted as she followed Cologne out towards the gardens which, just hours before, had been a mess because of all their unwanted visitors. It was already restored to the festive arrangement. Gone were the traces of fighting, of the sickness that had plagued them and of the dilemma they were faced with. In its place were the usual items, wards placed alongside one another, bringing the festivity once again. "I missed most of the New Year Celebrations today."

"The twins missed most of them too." Cologne smiled gently at the girl, reminding her of the events that had happened just moments before. "Nabiki was too busy pretending to be her brother, and Ranma was busy looking for you."

Some feeling touched her heart at the news that Ranma searched for her. At least she knew enough that he cared for her. Reminding herself why she had sought the matriarch she said, "Thank you for believing in me, Matriarch Cologne." She was grateful that the old woman noticed the small difference, and that the imagination, or the knowledge to actually understand the switch was bestowed unto Cologne. "I was told it was your idea."

"You're welcome child." Cologne stopped in front of the highest point of the gardens. It was the place that Akane remembered Ranma giving her the goodbye that she asked for, memories she would hold close to her heart. "New Years are beautiful anywhere you are, but I particularly miss the fireworks back in China. I hope my granddaughter and I return before our New Year is celebrated."

"How long have you known?" Akane asked lightly, sure that the matriarch had long since understood the difference between her and Kodachi, even before she suggested the test with the bow.

"I have suspected since I saw you. You handle ki differently than Lady Saotome, but there was a possibility of her changing. I was sure you were different when I gave you the black rose Kodachi embedded on the mirror." It was Cologne's own little test. "I wanted to let my students find out for themselves, but Kodachi's sudden reappearance was unexpected. The body you reside in... I said that I met it before, she was left handed then. It was logical to think that you switched bodies. There are numerous tales of such events in Amazon history."

Akane stared at the dark, the flickering lights of the town, dim compared to the fluorescent lights she had been accustomed to, but still visible in the dark. She closed her eyes as a soft breeze passed her face. "I wonder what will happen to me now. I am robbed of an identity."

At that statement Cologne laughed, resulting with Akane opening her eyes, fixing her gaze on the matriarch. "Akane, you've always been who you always were. Regardless of where your soul resides, I am sure the Saotomes would provide for you."

Just then Shampoo burst into the garden and shouted, "Great-grandmamma! Come inside please! You have not given time to Shampoo ever since you came." Gone was the seemingly quiet woman that Akane had encountered for the past months replaced by a perky Shampoo who rushed to hug her grandmother.

"Shampoo?" Cologne was equally bewildered at the change of her great-granddaughter, who had been silent all throughout the trial. It was almost like seeing the happy teenager she had been. "Is that you, my child? You've --"

"Changed? Is New Year, great-grandmamma, and is time to forget the past," Shampoo answered. Apparently the seriousness she had displayed earlier was for the trial that they committed and not because of the ghosts that she entertained. Then reverting to her solemn face for a few moments she said, "We have the rest of tomorrow to be sad."

Akane stared as Shampoo led the old woman back inside the house, her words echoing in her head. 'the rest of tomorrow' Akane suddenly shivered. 'What would tomorrow bring for me?' She wondered as she stared at the flickering lights that she had known as home for a short while. 'I'm not even sure if I'm still wanted.'

* * *

Nabiki watched the house in contentment, having pushed back everything to its right place in record time. She wrinkled her nose at the mess they still had to fix tomorrow, but she left it at that thought, for tomorrow. 

Deciding to have an earnest talk with her brother before they started to make decisions, she looked for him in the one place she was sure to find him. Jumping to the roof, she was relieved that he was sitting there, staring at the stars. Again. She sighed at his predictability and his ability to completely forget that it was ganjitsu. The roof was always been his first escape, the roof and the stars.

He looked at her before staring back up at the constellations that he was piecing together. "I see you've found me." There was resignation in his voice, although he did not seem disappointed that she came.

Nabiki shrugged as she sat down beside him. "If you did not want to be found, you would have chosen a different place to think."

"If you respected my privacy, you would have tried not to find me," Ranma shot back without taking his eyes off the skies. "What brings you here? I doubt it's because of my wit."

Nabiki punched him on the shoulder and scowled. "Nor is it for your arrogance, my lord." Finally she thought that she should begin to straighten out the issues because her brother would never address them. "Seriously, Ranma, I wanted to know what we should do about Akane."

"That's what I was trying to sort out before you found me," Ranma muttered. He closed his eyes. Although he wanted to keep her near, they both knew that with Kodachi around, that was not going to be an option. "My choices are not my own."

"You're going to send her away, aren't you?" Nabiki asked calmly. She knew her brother enough to know that he would risk everything for Akane. He would risk a chance at his own happiness because there was a chance she would not survive here.

"You've already decided that I would," Ranma answered, he sighed then opened his eyes to look at Nabiki. The options regarding Akane's care were not plentiful, and none of them suited him. "Do you trust Eruchii-san?"

"You're asking me if I trust that bastard?" Nabiki asked distastefully, her face contorted to show her dislike for the man. "I do not think I'm the person to ask for an honest opinion."

"You've never colored your reports to me from personal dislike." Ranma righted himself, propped his elbows on his knees and leaned his head on his fist. He was irked by the fact that Nabiki could be this evasive, even when talking to her own brother. "Do you trust him?"

"He's not a lecher, no. If that's what you mean," Nabiki supplied as she turned to look towards the lights of the city. It was something she already told him, in almost exactly the same words that she had voiced out now. She rubbed her hands together to bring some warmth to them. "I think they're telling us the truth about their past."

"I hate it when you absolutely refuse to answer my questions," Ranma muttered as he stood up and jumped down towards the gardens. Nabiki followed suit and strolled alongside him towards the beach. "What is it about Sohin that you hate, Nabiki?"

"Please, Ranma. Let's talk about something else," Nabiki pleaded as she took off her slippers when they reached the wet sand. Picking up a small stone she tossed it against the sea. Another small stone shattered hers. She looked back at Ranma and gave him a glare, knowing that it had been his stone that had broken hers. "Must you always show off?"

"Not always." Ranma smiled and then it vanished just as suddenly. The jumps in his conversation was almost as dizzyingly fast as his speed to one who was not used to it. "Kodachi's my wife, Nabiki. I can't just replace her with Akane. Happosai would have my head. Kuno would probably try to kill me."

"When have you ever let **them** stop you?" Nabiki muttered, and although she was sure that her brother already made up his mind to do the logical thing, she wanted to push him to do the illogical one. She knew it was futile, they both had come to terms with the fact that a marriage borne out of love was only found in highly romanticized tales. It has no room in the lives of liege lords.

"I can't make my life more complicated than it is, Nabiki." Ranma shrugged as he picked up another stone then threw it into the sea. This time, it was Nabiki's turn to decimate it. "Tell me, Nabiki, when did you make up your mind to stop loving Sohin?"

"Ranma... I was never in love with Sohin," Nabiki denied as she armed herself with more stones. It was dark so she needed a lot of stones to hit correctly.

"You hate to admit it, but we're similar in many ways," Ranma countered as he sent four rocks flying in at the same time. He hit the rocks as accurately as he had hit Nabiki's feelings. "It's the people who get on our nerves that we end up respecting."

"If you're equating nerves to respect and respect with love, then you should have fallen in love with Kuno," Nabiki teased with a small laugh as she tried to hit Ranma's stones. Only one of her stones met its target.

"I said people, Nabiki, not morons. And that's plain sick," Ranma complained and then threw all of the stones he collected into the sea.

"You asked for it." Nabiki shook her head as she sent a small chi blast to kill all Ranma's stones and smiled as they disappeared. It's a wonder why Genma didn't train them in something similar in the dark. "I don't want Sohin complicating my life."

"Am I the reason you stay here, Nabiki? Am I keeping you from leaving?" Ranma asked as he stared at his sister.

A frown crossed Nabiki's features as she looked up to face her brother. "The world doesn't revolve around you, Ranma. You don't keep me here."

Ranma nodded as he sat down the beach and closed his eyes. Although he wasn't quite sure Nabiki told him the truth about her reasons for staying, it had eased his mind that she did not think she was chained to him. "Sohin is a fine man. We could file a divorce and just smuggle you away."

"Same goes for you," Nabiki countered, not wishing to talk about this but finding the topic inevitable. She followed her brother sitting down on the beach. But her choice was far simpler, she could choose divorce because the alliance to the Ikkaseis had long been strained, and Sei was still alive. But Ranma had no child borne from Kodachi to hold Rose Brier with. "We were never **romantic**, Ranma. Romance was always for Shampoo and Mousse or the peasant girls. We never thought we would marry for anything more than a good solid power match."

At thirteen, when Nabiki suffered her first heartbreak over a peasant boy at one of their training sessions, they realized that they would never be given the freedom to choose. "Where did we gain the concept of love? It was simpler when it did not exist."

Nabiki hugged her knees closer and rested her chin upon them. "The Amazons, I guess. Had we stayed in Japan, we would have never heard of 'happily ever after'. Because not all of them married with strength, Ranma. Some of the girls lost on purpose." Nabiki shook her head as she stared at the lapping waves. "I have had many suitors, many fiancés... I didn't know what I had before I lost it, and I didn't know what I've been missing until it arrived."

"It must be the Saotome curse. You'd think we have enough curses already." Ranma smiled ruefully. "We have to prepare a lot of things, Nabiki." He held out his hand to her, and she gratefully accepted.

At least they would always have each other.

* * *

Kodachi ripped off the ribbon that tied her hair and dropped her kimono as soon as she entered the room. The entire ordeal reminded her how much she hated New Year and Amazon women. A thousand curses later, she was seated in front of her vanity with a new maid tending to her hair. 

Because of the soul-shift, the poisons that she had introduced into Akane were rapidly losing potency. That, combined with the administration of her own antidote and that miracle vial, had brought her back to her usual strength.

Kodachi moved her hands over the small table filled with small items she normally didn't put on display. The jewelry box, the fine combs were settled in smooth silk with a small hand mirror. One of the combs caught her eye, a new one in her collection. She brought it under the candle light turning it over on her hand.

A marital comb. A marital comb similar to her own, with the exception of the clouds replacing the rose that was carved along its length, was in her dresser. "Who owns this?" Kodachi addressed the girl tending to her hair. The girl was crouched low so her head was below hers as she peered at the comb in Kodachi's hands.

"I believe it is Lady Kodachi's New Year's present from Lord Ranma," she said before continuing with her ministrations. Kodachi clasped the comb in her hands fingering the delicate carving.

An arched eyebrow rose as she twirled the comb between her fingertips. 'Getting sentimental, aren't we, Ranma?' It signified that Ranma at least partially believed that Akane was not Kodachi, even before the Amazon's test.

She never felt jealousy over the women that chased Ranma, because Ranma belonged to her. She was complacent about her place in his heart, she was irreplaceable. He might detest her, but he never strayed. He never loved anyone else. He never hated anyone else, and he never showed passion to anyone else. He was loyal to a fault, and he barely looked at other women even if he didn't share her bed. But now... the unfamiliar emotion stirred in her heart.

'How dare he offer Akane what belongs to me?' Kodachi thought, her heart pounding with the beginnings of hatred. "Get me one of the Chinese dresses that was given to me as a present when my husband married me. One that allows freer movement with high slits."

The maid stood to do as Kodachi bade, when Kodachi stopped her with another order, "And tell Lady Akane that I have something precious of hers. That she forgets Ranma's gifts too easily, and that I will be waiting for her in Serpent's Bluff."

* * *

Ever since they had revealed their identity to the Saotomes, Sohin had been a little edgy. It was their first time trusting anyone with the truth, and it scared him because the truth made them vulnerable. 

But Ifuku's trust in the Saotomes was absolute. Since he placed trust in his sister's judgment, he did not object to what they had started. Already the summons from Ranma, not for Sohin the merchant, but for Lord Eruchii of the house of Tendo, was a sign of change.

Sohin entered the library of the Saotome household still wondering if this had been the right thing to do. He found Ranma by one of the paper windows looking out at the dark sky.

Sohin didn't know how to proceed from there. He hardly knew enough 'samurai' etiquette. And because they told the Saotomes the truth, it was expected that he greet Ranma according to his station.

Ranma finally noticed Sohin and motioned for him to sit down on one of the pillows. Whatever the rules of etiquette were, Ranma dismissed them. "From what I understood, you're the Tendo patriarch?"

"In exile," Sohin corrected, puzzled at his interest, although not so surprised at the question. They were bound to explain what they were doing. To a house as powerful as the Saotomes, it was difficult to refuse an audience.

"Does Akane resemble your sister?" Ranma asked quietly.

There was a long pause before Sohin answered, "She should." The empty grave that greeted him was not a sign that his sister was taken by Chisei, but by the astounding fact that her body was granted another soul. "It is my sister's body that she occupies."

And if the name that they shared, Akane Tendo, was not a sign, then he didn't know what was. Ranma shook his head. If it wasn't the reincarnation giving him the headache, it was probably all the other small problems cropping up to finish the job. "I would like to request that you bring her home. With my wife here, she would be in constant jeopardy."

Sohin laughed bitterly. "What home? I have been on the move since I was young, learning where I could. I am the heir to both the Tendo style and to the Tendo land, but it is a worthless title while Chisei is there. I cannot give Akane anything."

"I understand that. Chisei holds her vassals through fear. It would be easy to sway them to your favor. Nabiki and I could lend you assistance if you plan to retake your lands." It was a generous offer and more than what he expected in exchange for taking care of a woman who was virtually his sister. "But Akane needs a place to stay."

Sohin shook his head for a moment, not knowing what to do with the offer but not wanting to turn down the opportunity it presented. He did not go back to his land and reclaim it, because he lacked the manpower to achieve it. One man alone cannot stand against the army that Chisei had jealously built over time. "I don't understand."

"You know her story." Racking his brains for something that would give Sohin a reason to take her, Ranma could come up with only one thing, "She's your descendant."

"She might be Chisei's," Sohin answered reluctantly, and then sighed. "I would take her if I could, but she would only be in danger with me. Chisei hunts us for game. At least she knows that our youngest sister is dead. With me, she risks discovery."

"I told you I would help you." Ranma banged his fist against the low table, desperate enough to offer anything he could spare, yet not knowing what he could. "Isn't that enough?"

"What is this really about?" Sohin asked as he slowly stood up, not wanting to promise something that would bring him more trouble than it was worth. He had simply to think about the fate of the earlier Tendo Akane to know the dire consequences of bringing this one under his wing. "You could send her anywhere. You're just endangering her with me."

Ranma stared at Sohin and then turned to look down. "Anywhere? Not quite anywhere. She is a Saotome samurai, and if Happosai knew that, she wouldn't even leave Saotome land at all. She told me she was heir to the Tendo Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. Tell me, is your style specific?"

"My father's fighting style was based entirely on the sword. I was not old enough to learn this, so I was forced to learn from everybody else," Sohin answered, not understanding the abrupt change of topic.

"And maybe that's whence the other sector of Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu sprung," Ranma suggested, a different division with similarities to the style that the Saotomes taught and revered. It was a branch of Anything Goes that, from what he observed from Akane's fighting skills, was based on strength rather than speed, terrestrial rather than aerial, with direct moves rather than subtle ones. A complete opposite of the Saotome style, yet parallel enough in its tenets to merit sharing the school name. From what Akane had revealed, two styles that flourished without one knowing of the other for years. "She **cannot** stay here."

"Is your only excuse martial arts?" Sohin asked. Yet that was the only excuse Ranma was willing to give. Sohin gave a resigned sigh, knowing that Ranma would not back down from the idea, because he had no other. "You would send her away rather than let her be a constant reminder of what you couldn't have. Isn't that selfish?"

'Don't **you** understand that my wife will **kill** her? That my liege lord will kill her because she knows **our** style? With you she faces the lesser evil of Chesei. A woman we could neutralize.' Ranma wanted to shout that out to Sohin, but pride kept his tongue in check.

He would not explain himself.

The repercussions of the switch between Akane and Kodachi weighed down on his shoulders as Akane's liege lord, as her initiator in Indiscriminate Grappling and as her one-time husband. "I don't care if you think so, as long as you take her."

Sohin leaned back closed his eyes and hoping that this decision would not doom them to death. "Only if I could take my sister with me." He might as well start with his family. If he was to start a rebellion to retake his land, he needed the symbolism of his two sisters by his side.

Ranma nodded curtly. He understood that Sohin meant Ifuku.

Sohin closed his eyes on the agreement. 'After twenty years of hiding, am I still capable of filling my father's shoes?' The air blew in through the shoji, chilling him. It was what he had been preparing all his life for, to become someone he had already forgotten to be.

"Nabiki brought a prisoner under heavy guard in one of the rooms. Tendo Kikuko." Ranma paused long enough to gauge Sohin's reaction to the news before continuing, "Lady Shori wanted to wait until you arrived to decide her fate."

Sohin's brows furrowed in thought about Kikuko, he hasn't been daimyo long enough to consider that he had to question her. The only thought up until that moment had been survival. "I'll do what I must."

"One of the men outside will take you to her after this. I have no word of your other captors but my men were told to apprehend any suspicious stranger tonight." Ranma brought out something he had hastily worked on before seeing Sohin spreading it around the table.

Sohin looked at the small map that lay in front of Ranma. Meticulously drawn to scale, it was a good blueprint for a fortress. Ranma pushed the map closer to him. "Please go over this, it's a map of the Tendo stronghold in Sanuki. It's been a while since I was personally there, so there might be something wrong. And it's rather hastily drawn."

Since Sohin's last time in the Tendo fortress was over twenty years ago, he didn't think he would recognize anything amiss. But he raised his eyebrows at this. "When did you last visit?"

"It wasn't a visit. Our foster father has –- unusual -- ways to train his wards. One of those training sessions involved learning defenses of castles the hard way." Ranma frowned as he sat down opposite Sohin, sweeping his hand over the area of the castle. "The hardest castle to breach to date has been the White Heron, and that will probably not be finished for another ten years. The plans for the fortress are... quite sound though."

Sohin leaned back as he traced the entrance of the palace towards the donjon. Quite thorough, there were paths to rooms and even gate security was there. "Your foster father? Hasn't it been a while since you were free of your foster father's care?"

Ranma smiled at Sohin. "Yes, that's a map of something I saw when I was sixteen, coming back from China. It's the reason I asked you to look it over. My sister and I were only inside the Tendo palace for a week. We scrubbed the halls quite cleanly for some coin, and then defected soon after to come back home."

From what he could see the map looked accurate, and Sohin had lived in that same palace for most of his childhood life. He suddenly realized why the Saotome pair was a formidable foe, even in battles.

He heard of their ability in battle, yes, but alongside was an impeccable memory of even the most trivial things. "Even if I rallied all the men loyal to my father, we wouldn't be able to storm a castle."

"The biggest problem you have, Tendo, is the bottleneck effect of the castle gates. From every gate, your men will be forced to move through these stone corridors." Ranma pointed to the series of gates that gave entrance to the castle. "Chisei's men will take you down one at a time by arrows from the towers here and here. Do you remember if this corridor has boards above it, which other samurai could come from?"

"No. No, there was never anything like that after the gates," Sohin assured Ranma.

Ranma nodded. "Then just archers and the next gates then. There will be three of these that your men will need to pass through. Do you have practical experience in raiding castles, Tendo?"

Sohin was surprised the Lord of Kanagawa would even trust that he was Lord of Sanuki on his word alone, let alone talk with him as if they were equals. "No, of course not. There were no castles to raid if you were ten and running for your life, aging to thirty pretending to be someone you're not."

"Then you'll have to trust me on this one. There are other ways to breach a castle built like this and be assured of victory, but we Saotomes rarely go for them." Ranma paused and thought upon the strongholds of the castle complex, the donjons. From memory he laced them together, interconnecting halls. They were large halls that would contain soldiers who were ready to receive weapons, and in turn go to their assigned units. "A first unit must be capable enough to infiltrate and take out the archers, follow on to the stronghold, and head to the main donjon where the Lady Chisei would probably be located."

Sohin smiled ruefully at the plan. "I realize why no one **but** a Saotome would do something like it. It would be almost impossible to gain access to those archers without someone from the inside, and I assure you, we have no one left."

"I was afraid you'd say something like that," Ranma muttered, straightening from his crouched position over the map. "I have around a hundred samurai that I could assemble at this moment to aid you. If I pull enough resources, Nerima, Rose Brier and the border will be left with no samurai, but I cannot do that."

"A hundred is generous, although I cannot guarantee I can win this little war," Sohin answered. "You're forcing my hand."

"You've been on my side of the island long enough," Ranma warned as he looked over the map. "It's taken you more than twenty years to think about it. I'm sure you have some sort of plan, unless you never meant to take Sanuki back at all. From what I gauge from earlier conversations, you're a man who doesn't back off his duties, and Sanuki is one of them."

"You're just doing this because you want Akane away from here," Sohin accused. Anger glittered in Ranma's eyes, but Sohin didn't give him the chance to retort. "I've already accepted her guardianship. I am her brother, and I have planned this for a very long time without the means of enacting it. It's very difficult to make solid plans in exile."

Before Ranma could mutter even the first words of a token protest, Sohin continued, "I will provide for my sister as you have provided for yours, and you are right. It's past time that the three of us went home. I have an uncle here who is also in exile. He is the last of those who were faithful to my father. He's living in your lands because he was of service to Happosai before, and the old man granted sanctuary. I know Tendos and Saotomes have old blood between them. If you weren't away on a training trip, and we had not been exiled, I'm sure my father would have promised my sister to a Saotome."

Sohin noted the weary look that Ranma showed, perhaps because of his loss. "I haven't visited him for fear that my last living sister would be hunted down as well. My youngest sister's death took a toll on the two of us. We would have reclaimed Sanuki sooner if she hadn't died," words that he hadn't said since his sister's death just a little over a year before.

"You want to go to him now." Ranma's eyes regarded Sohin sitting before the map of his own palace. "I wouldn't know where he's hiding. He's under the old man's sanctuary, not mine."

"I know someone who does." Sohin turned his head away, fully knowing that it really was months overdue for him to return. "I'll take my sisters, I don't need the samurai. We'll win back Sanuki."

"They have five hundred soldiers in Sanuki," Ranma said with deadly calm, and with the accuracy of a man born into war. He knew that Sohin wouldn't stand a chance against those odds. "Your uncle has what? Maybe twenty. He wouldn't have been exiled if he had more."

"When I stand before the gates of Sanuki I will rally the men to me."

"You're a fool," Ranma answered harshly. "The men you would compel to your feet were mere babies when you left, and those who are old enough to remember you have already died by Chisei's own sword or another battle."

"I **am** Sanuki. I will take the castle and I will win. I give you my word," Sohin answered as he folded the map before him and hid it in the folds of his kimono. "There are more ways to win than the Saotomes' way or by sheer number, and no one knows more of how to storm the Tendo's own stronghold than the Tendo heir himself. I **will** take Sanuki back from my step-mother, and I will return your men to you. I promise you that."

Ranma stood silent. He had asked Nabiki if she believed Sohin could take down the walls of Sanuki, and she had answered. 'Not Sohin, Ranma. Eruchii, would take down the walls. Nothing will prevent him from winning back what he has lost. A man driven by such needs will win. I have seen his skill, and I have faith in his ability.'

The most glittering of all recommendations from the person he most trusted. So Ranma found himself doing the only thing he could, "If you change your mind my men will wait for you at the border. An old friend of mine, Kumon Ryu, will meet you. He is not my subordinate, he is Happosai's, but he will come for you because he owes Nabiki much. My hundred will rally under him, and he in turn will look to you."

"I have to be the one who leads them. If not, then my beginning will be weak, my sovereignty questioned," Sohin said as he looked at Ranma wondering if he understood.

"Then lead them well, Tendo," Ranma answered. "I am expecting no less than a victory."

Sohin stood up to leave, but before he could fully stand up Ranma said bluntly, "My sister." He stared at Sohin, gauging what his reaction to the statement was. "What are you going to do about her?"

"Nothing," Sohin answered, and though Sohin had not denied the question, Ranma felt he would not give a straight answer. "She is not meant for me. There are some emotions not meant for this world. Were you going to forbid it?"

A soft smile lit Ranma's face at Sohin's defensive attitude. "I do not run my sister's life. She would be displeased to know that I even asked you of your intent."

Sohin nodded and turned to leave, opening the shoji doors. Before he was completely out of the room, Ranma said, "I wish that you reconsider, regarding my sister. She's stubborn, but I do believe she cares for you."

Sohin didn't turn to acknowledge whether he heard the statement or not.

'He might have the makings of a powerful lord yet,' Ranma thought as Sohin walked away.

* * *

Akane looked out at the sky while idly combing her hair. It was nearly morning. The night had completely robbed them of their sleep. She should be exhausted, yet she sat there watching the still-dark sky, willing the sun not to rise, for that meant ganjitsu would be over. 

She shifted on the pillow she was sitting on, unused to it. The new room she had been given by Nabiki matched her old one, not surprising since the only difference between the rooms were the shoji, but she felt alienated in this one all the same.

Akane turned around just in time to hear someone tap softly on the paper shoji. "Come in!" Akane answered as she stood up leaving the comb on the tatami. Nabiki entered the room silently, carrying a small lantern to light her way through the dark hallways.

Hanging the lantern from one of the pegs on the wall, Nabiki bowed immediately. Akane stood staring at her because she had never seen Nabiki so humbled, and yet in her humility, pride still showed in Nabiki's straight back. Akane smiled as she thought, 'The woman could apologize and still manage to make it look like she was commanding.'

"Let me apologize for the shabby treatment you've received, Lady Akane." No explanations, no flowery words. Akane grimaced, she would rather have forgotten the whole matter than Nabiki apologize. Besides it wasn't only Nabiki who had supposedly wronged her... but it was the woman's duty to apologize.

Akane knelt down so that she could place her injured hand against Nabiki's shoulder. "I'm not the vindictive type, Nabiki. It was confusing. I was confused too."

Nabiki rose gracefully from the floor and looked at Akane in the eye, the image of a proud samurai once again. No trace of the apology was left on her face as she said the next words. "My brother has already made arrangements for you, my lady. It is his wish that you rejoin your family."

"My... family?" Akane repeated, bewildered at the chain of events, looking up from the tatami towards Nabiki who was moving towards the small stove that kept her room warm.

Nabiki kindled the fire, ignoring Akane's question for the moment, warming the chilly room with her gesture. Then, Nabiki stood abruptly from her task and moved towards the door. "You are to remain with the Tendos, Akane." Taking the lantern she brought with her, Nabiki opened the door towards the hallway.

"Don't tell me you're leaving me with only that," Akane protested, standing up and moving towards Nabiki. She already sensed his intent, but she did not know that it would come this soon.

Nabiki stopped and turned around, brandishing the two swords that were handed down to Akane back in the inauguration. The very ones she gave Ifuku the day she decided to send Ifuku off. They were returned to Nabiki by Ifuku, and in turn Nabiki presented them back to their owner. "You should have these. They are yours by right." She slipped them off their place concealed deftly in her kimono then placed them reverently on the floor in front of her. "You may not be a Saotome, but by the gods, you fight like one." With that Nabiki turned her back to the girl, leaving her once again.

Akane started to protest. "Don't I need to --"

Nabiki paused from opening the door, but did not turn to look at Akane. "He has a wife, Akane. If you cannot understand that, then you are not worthy of him."

"Don't talk to me about worth!" Akane shouted, holding the shoji close, preventing Nabiki from leaving. "He cannot just send me away!"

Nabiki turned from the shoji to Akane. "He can and he is." When Akane did not let the shoji go, Nabiki sighed in resignation, her voice softening, "I didn't want to do this, but it seems like I have no choice. There was an agreement you both set for the fight over Hanae's training. You said you would give him anything if you lose in exchange for the privilege of teaching Hanae if you win."

Akane opened her mouth realizing what Nabiki was invoking so that she would leave without qualm. "No," Akane whispered, and then with more conviction she begged, "You cannot do this to me, Nabiki. You can **not**."

"He requests that you leave with the Tendos at first light tomorrow. He doesn't wish to see you." Nabiki turned around, but before she left, she whispered with the true remorse that her brother felt but cannot afford to express, "I'm sorry, Lady Akane, but you have to leave."

When another knock sounded on her door, Akane froze she turned to look at the sound, dreading that Nabiki returned. Instead, when she called out permission for entrance, she found Sara was there. Ifuku told her before she left to join Sohin that Sara was the maid assigned to Kodachi for the moment.

"Lady Akane," Sara addressed her with reverence that hadn't been there when she was Kodachi. "Lady Kodachi sends word. She has something you want. She wants you to meet her at Serpent's Bluff."

Akane's eyes narrowed, not understanding what Kodachi could dangle in front of her eyes to do something as foolish as meet her at Serpent's Bluff at this late hour.

"She says," Sara continued, her message not finished. "That you forget Lord Ranma's gifts too easily."

Akane's eyes rounded in shock as she stood up from her seated position. "No, not this too," Akane whispered in denial. She could not withhold the last remnants of proof that her life as Ranma's wife existed.

* * *

Sohin had not known what to expect to find when he found Kikuko, but froze at the doorway when he saw her. She was seated on the floor in an awkward Lotus position, with her legs crossed before her. Her hands were tied in a traditional u-shape behind her back. She was bent forward with her head as well as her chest bound to her legs. 

Sohin had been exposed to numerous martial arts, but never had he seen hojojutsu, the skill of restraining a person with rope, used before. And he never imagined that Nabiki could perform it. Usually, samurai left the tying up to the lower classes.

He had known Nabiki's education in the arts was more than unique. This proved it. Nabiki finished checking the rope. She looked up from the prisoner, and then to the Tendo siblings. He was surprised she even let him see that she'd set the rope. Rule three in hojojutsu prohibits others from seeing the technique being performed. Each han had a different way of tying their prisoners. The secrecy was to prevent the prisoner from knowing and escaping, looping back to rule one: do not allow the prisoner to slip his bonds.

The prawn position that she tied Kikuko in was not painful now, but it would become excruciating in time. He didn't know what expression was plastered across his face when he had discovered her, but she must have disapproved of it. She narrowed her eyes at him before slowly standing up and motioning for the siblings to follow her out of the hallway. As soon as they were out of sight from the room and out of hearing distance she asked, "Are you capable of being who you must be?"

"I thought Shori would wait for my decision about what to do with her," Sohin accused harshly.

Nabiki smiled a self-loathing smile, one which made her features ugly, daring him to contradict her. "You tie prisoners up, Lord Eruchii, whether they're going to be tortured or not."

Ifuku touched Sohin's shoulder lightly, and he visibly relaxed. "Sohin, there are things we do, not because we want to but because we must."

"Your sister understands what it is to be liege, my lord," Nabiki said slowly. "Do you?"

He narrowed his eyes at her, turning around to walk back into the room where Kikuko had been tied. Already the ropes were having the desired effect: Kikuko was moaning. The prawn position was designed to create a burning sensation on her spine, and since the spine was the seat of all the human body's nerves, the pain radiated throughout the body.

If Kikuko did not give them the information they needed, the fourth and final form of torture would be the tanuki. It was very dangerous, and quite painful. He didn't know if he could bring himself to apply the form.

Sohin steeled himself, then looked over at Ifuku. Her face was grim. There were things you never wanted to see or experience. If you cannot save yourself, then you might as well save someone else. "Lady Nabiki, would you be so kind as to take my sister out of the room?"

Ifuku closed her eyes slowly. She did not want to leave. She was reluctant to let him endure this pain alone. "Eruchii-oniisama," she said the name for Kikuko's benefit. "You have not--"

His upraised hand stilled her words. They did not want to appear weak in front of a prisoner. Ifuku might not remember what it was to be liege, but he was trained for it. He remembered power games well.

Nabiki asked earlier if he understood what being liege meant. Ifuku might know that this was expected of them, but she didn't know what was happening. She spoke words of comfort because she knew him but she did not understand this world as Nabiki implied. And Sohin did. But he did not have to like it.

Nabiki urged a hand near Ifuku's elbow and led her out, handing Ifuku to another samurai who was guarding the doors. She was back in an instant, her eyebrow raised. Sohin cocked his eyebrow once before he turned towards Kikuko. Nabiki was present because he might not know how to undo and redo the knots. That, and Nabiki did not trust him to do what needed to be done.

He frowned, grimly set on what he was about to do. He might not like what he had to do, but he understood it.

Sohin knelt down near Kikuko, untying one of the ropes so that her head was free to look at him. He roughly brought her face up to meet his eyes. The movement must have caused more pain, because she began trembling. "They've treated you well, Kikuko. Better than how Chisei would have treated you had she caught you herself."

The bonds that held her had no knots. No, Kikuko didn't consider herself in bondage, rather 'wrapped'. The black ropes were a stark contrast against Kikuko's pale skin. Sohin rubbed the rope lightly. Black was for the winter and Kikuko was facing the north end of the house, representative of the black genbu, the black tortoise.

The beginning of tears glittered in her eyes. She hadn't been in the position enough to be broken. She didn't respond. "Do you know who I am?" Sohin asked slowly.

She smiled, a half crazed smile. "Your mother certainly should."

Sohin raised an eyebrow as he splayed his hand across her back, trailing lightly along her curved spine. The stinging sensation she was feeling hadn't reached its peak yet, he would have known if the pain was close to unbearable when Kikuko's body was more red than white. A soothing touch would be a little bit of torture. "You forget who you speak to, Kikuko."

"Yes, peasant, I remember you well." She spat out.

"You were not flogged, you were not pressed," Sohin commented as he surveyed her pristine body. She was unmarked by the first two methods. "If you were in my step-mother's house you would have been flogged as you were questioned. You would have been put in the box."

"Careful, Lord Tendo," the note of warning that was in Nabiki's voice was said with a mixture of disdain. "Mercy might kill you, and mercy will not gain you her respect."

Sohin let go of Kikuko's head glaring at Nabiki. He did not like torture, and he did not like inflicting pain, but he had to punish because he did not want to be weak. He could not afford to be weak. Kikuko beat him to a retort, "She holds your tongue, my lord."

Sohin deigned a glance at Kikuko. In her pain, she still had the audacity to look up at him. He stood up and stalked towards Nabiki, bending to whisper into her ear. "Don't force me to do something I'll regret, Nabiki."

She stood completely still for a moment, pride warring with practicality, before bowing deferentially to him. "As my lord wills it, I obey." There was no pride there, and he did not understand how Nabiki could let go of it so easily. But he had found that Nabiki was more sensible than she was proud. "I could torture her without the whip, the press or the box, my lord." All of the words were more for Kikuko's show than for his.

She was offering her services so he didn't have to bloody his hands. A way out. He took a deep breath and looked at Kikuko. She smiled, there were cracks in the smile but not nearly enough to break her. "You train your whores well."

He felt the beginnings of rage stir inside him at Kikuko's words, and suddenly, Nabiki was holding his kimono to keep him from moving. From her angle, Kikiko could not see that it was Nabiki who stopped him.

Nabiki moved slowly in front of him, turning at the last minute to face him, giving him an almost imperceptible shake of her head. She laid a possessive hand on his shoulder before turning to look at Kikuko with disdain. "My Lord Tendo does value my skills extremely well."

The way she said the word skills suggested more than just her swift hand with the rope. And suddenly, the way Nabiki was draped across his arm, seemed extremely vulgar. Nabiki glanced up at him, "With your permission, my lord?"

It dawned on him that Kikuko did not know who Nabiki was. He nodded his assent. He didn't know what else he could have done. She was on the floor in a deep bow, and he saw the picture Nabiki presented more clearly. She looked more courtesan than she did the lady of the house. Kikuko flinched from Nabiki's touch more than she did at Sohin's own.

Her hand was gentle but firm as she raised Kikuko's head to look at Sohin's. Nabiki had arranged herself so that her own Kimono covered some of Kikuko's bonds.

"I have been under Lord Tendo's service for some months now," Nabiki crooned as she fingered Kikuko's hair softly, almost lovingly. "Ever since he's been in need of someone to do some... persuasion."

Nabiki turned to Sohin in question. He understood the unspoken question after a long silence. "How many soldiers does Chisei have, Kikuko?"

Kikuko would have spit but Nabiki had a strong grip on her throat. Sohin felt that it would not have been the first question that she would have asked but she did not show any outward sign of displeasure. She rubbed her cheek against Kikuko's own, a threat more than the caress it looked like. "You will be begging to answer his questions, my lady. Remember that."

Nabiki pressed a small kiss on Kikuko's cheek before she rose and draped an arm against Sohin as they both walked out of the room. As soon as they stepped out, two samurai took their place to watch Kikuko, and another two were situated at the entrance.

Sohin watched as Nabiki changed from cold and calculating to exhausted and miserable after a few steps. "You don't like doing it," Sohin commented, amazed that she felt that way, amazed that he was able to see it.

Nabiki must have realized the change in her facial expression, since she schooled it properly by the time she looked at him. "We live in difficult times, my lord. Just tell me what you wish to know, and I'll send you her answers as soon as I'm able. You can't bring her with you. You have enough trouble already."

"What exactly were you threatening her with, Nabiki?" Sohin asked running his hand through his hair. Kikuko was in pain, yes, but she hadn't exhibited terror when he neared her. Not the way she trembled when Nabiki merely knelt before her.

"What do you think?" Nabiki asked. He didn't answer her. "We are more afraid of our own pleasure than our own pain. Kikuko was trained to receive pain but not humiliation."

This time, Sohin stopped in the corridor as he gripped her arm. "Does Ranma know?"

She wrenched her arm away from him as she replied, "We are Happosai's heirs, and this is the only way Happosai teaches torture." She didn't give him a chance to reply as she stepped into one of the rooms, and he came face-to-face with Ifuku.

* * *

Akane struggled to get up to Serpent's Bluff. The last time she visited, Ranma carried her from the bottom. This time, she was doing it under her own power. She found that reaching the top wasn't as easy as it seemed. 

At the top, Kodachi was waiting for her, leaning against the same tree that Ranma used to show her the five pools of water. The comb she coveted was resting on Kodachi's midnight black hair, framing it perfectly in the full moon.

"You came." Kodachi's threat was wrapped in those two words.

Akane righted herself with dignity from her scramble to the top. She was wearing a gi, and Kodachi wore a black Chinese dress with slits from ankles all the way to her upper thighs, allowing free movement.

"Did you think I wouldn't?" Akane had not backed down from any challenge in her life. She would not start now.

"I thought you might have forgotten what was precious to you," Kodachi said nonchalantly, turning around slowly to model the comb that glittered beautifully against her locks.

Akane grit her teeth as she lunged for it, but she missed the comb by a few inches. Kodachi laughed as she danced away again, flipping a large fan open, covering her mouth coyly. "What a sexless woman Ranma landed for himself," Kodachi taunted. "I wonder, what does he think of you in his spare moments, Akane?"

* * *

Nabiki moved hesitantly on the zabuton that she was sitting on, half-listening to the things that both Sohin and Ifuku would need for their trip tomorrow. 

So far, except for that little after-torture incident, she managed for Sohin not to find her alone. She tapped her fan against her lap impatiently, wondering where Akane was.

Nabiki thought that it would be best if Akane were introduced to Sohin before she was entrusted to her 'older brother' completely. But it was taking longer than expected for Akane to make an appearance.

As she was about to stand up to look for the woman herself, her personal maid entered the room silently, kneeling low on the tatami as she informed them, "She's not to be found, my lady."

Nabiki rose from the table, and both Sohin and Ifuku showed worry over the news that Akane was not in her quarters. "Does Ranma know about this?" Just as she uttered the question, Ranma opened the shoji, a grim line set upon his face.

"Does that woman have **any** sense at all?" he asked no one in particular, but Ifuku and Nabiki winced. "And my dear wife is missing as well."

After several summons, Sara was brought inside the room, her head bowed as Sasuke urged her in. Nabiki raised an eyebrow and the maid reported, "Lady Akane was summoned to Serpent's Bluff, my lord."

"By whom?" Ranma prompted, wondering who, in his own household, had the audacity to give such commands in the middle of the night.

"Kodachi," Nabiki supplied in a matter-of-fact tone, and Sara nodded in confirmation. "Serpent's Bluff. You have to go to them. That area is dangerous for one who doesn't know the area, and especially to someone who doesn't know how to swim."

Ranma cursed as he stood up to fetch both his wife and Akane for what seemed like the millionth time that day. Only he and Nabiki would be able to scale the small cliff with ease, and he didn't relish the fact that he would be meeting face to face with Kodachi again so soon after the 'trial'.

* * *

Akane realized immediately that a fight between Kodachi and her in the middle of Serpent's Bluff was leaning more towards Kodachi's win than hers. Although Akane was familiar with the territory, Kodachi seemed to be intimately aware of it. 

As if sensing her question, Kodachi broke off from Akane, landing lightly atop the tree, her hand flashing out in the grand gesture of a host showing paradise. "Serpent's Bluff shows just how far Ranma's powers reach, Akane. My father brought me here the day he announced I was to be betrothed to Saotome Ranma."

It was a reminder that Rose Brier was hers. It was also the bait to let her agree to the wedding quietly. The Kuno head knew his daughter well. Rebounding off the branch Kodachi tried to strike Akane with a ribbon. Akane sidestepped, thrusting her left hand forward in defense. The ribbon wrapped around it painfully.

Kodachi smiled gleefully at the small victory, pulling the ribbon and letting Akane stumble closer to her as Akane resisted its pull. "You have taken care of my body well, Akane. Let me thank you for your services."

"I'd rather die," Akane said scornfully.

"That can be arranged," Kodachi warned in her lilting tones.

Akane stopped moving against the ribbon, rushing Kodachi instead. Kodachi let go of the ribbon as soon as she felt it slacken, somersaulting away from Akane. "Akane, you do realize that I've just been toying with you, don't you?"

Akane chose to ignore the comment as she tried to force air into her constricting lungs. Exertion was already humming in her veins. Kodachi was much more in tune with her own body than Akane's own balance in the body she currently occupied. Although similar to her own, it was not its mold and the glaring differences came when she tried to hit more than she could reach or exert power that she didn't have.

She was on the losing end of this fight, but she didn't back down. She never backed down. This was her challenge and she would win it, no matter how difficult the odds.

Disentangling herself from the ribbon, Akane watched Kodachi wearily as Kodachi held the comb tauntingly in front of her. If she weren't on the pointed edge of Kodachi's current weapon, she would have admired the way Kodachi's grace flowed. **That** was how her body was meant to move. Her fists weren't meant to deliver forceful blows, but rather, a deadly flexible dance that Kodachi now exuded.

Kodachi could sense the admiration in her gaze, as well as the glaring hatred, and she preened under it. "I am easy to talk to, Akane. It is obvious that this match should not commence. Let it not be said that I force fights upon those who are weaker than I."

A noble speech, if it were sincere. Akane doubted if Kodachi had a noble bone in her body.

"There was never love in our marriage," Kodachi said softly, and Akane knew this was the reason why Kodachi brought her to this place. Not because she wanted a fight, rather because she wanted to stake a claim. "But there were no expectations of it either."

She turned to Akane, her eyes almost wildly boring into Akane's own. "You didn't want there to be," Akane accused.

"No," it was said in half thought. "You disturbed my house by coming here Akane Tendo. He belonged to me until you came here."

And suddenly, Akane knew that Kodachi was jealous. She never had had reason to be before, because Ranma never gave his other fiancées much thought. He might have a daughter, and she suspected dalliances, but she knew that his oath to her kept her there. His hate kept her there. He felt his strongest emotions for her.

And now even that was gone.

"Kodachi!" the warning shout rang in the air. Akane didn't need to turn to find Ranma landing gracefully at the perimeter of their battleground. His presence fueled the desperation inside Kodachi.

"If I cannot have him," Kodachi shouted as she drew her hand back, Ranma's presence accelerating their fight. "Then you cannot have him either."

She flashed the marital comb in the air, showing her that she held it. The sleek ivory glinted in the night sky, almost like white gold. Kodachi threw the comb over the edge of the cliff. Akane lunged for the glittering arc, but missed it, her fingers hardly deflecting its trajectory in the night sky.

As it fell down in the air, her eyes trailing the object in the night sky, Akane could only do one thing.

She jumped after it.

-

Ranma watched dumbfounded as Akane jumped after what Kodachi had thrown over the ledge. Giving a silent curse in the night sky, he was left with only one thing to do.

He jumped after her.

Ranma's eyes narrowed as he watched her snag something from the air, clutching it tightly against her chest. He shook his head, bringing his hands to his sides to lessen air resistance and facilitate free fall.

Akane was falling head first to the ocean, and the gods knew that she could barely swim in three feet of water much less in thirty. As soon as he was face to face with her, he watched her give him a small smile, and she opened her arms to him, as if she was just waiting for his arrival.

He resisted the urge to scream at her for idiocy, and pulled her close automatically nestling her head against the crook of his neck. They were still falling head first into the water, but at least they were together.

He hoped she had at least enough sense to close her eyes. They dove into the water in one clean splash. Jusenkyo took over almost immediately, giving Ranma-chan the problem of dragging a larger woman towards the surface.

As soon as they broke through the surface Akane was coughing water, but this time, she wasn't resisting the way Ranma held her up. She wasn't struggling. Fortunately for them, though Serpent's Bluff was bordered by ocean with a depth of more than thirty feet on one side, they didn't need to swim far to reach shore.

Ranma propped Akane up before collapsing on the sand beside her. 'How many times does a woman need saving in one day?' Ranma asked himself as Akane scrambled up to a sitting position. The fact that it was already early morning of the second day of the year did not present itself in Ranma's mind as clearly as the complaint.

As soon as his eyes cleared, Ranma shook his head at Akane. The lecture in his head disappearing as Akane smiled at him tenderly. Ranma stood up, unbuttoning the Chinese shirt and flicking it in the air to release the water droplets before donning it and walking away.

Through all of this, Akane was seated on her haunches, knees folded under her. "Wait," she called out, as soon as she realized that he wasn't planning on taking her with him. "Wait, Ranma."

Ranma turned to face her. It was still dark, but the moon was full and he could see her face. "Don't you want to know what I would risk my life for?"

It was a question that scared him. What would someone like Akane Tendo want more than life itself? "I don't think I could handle the answer."

Akane walked towards him slowly, resting her hands against Ranma's arms, the object she saved still clutched in her right hand. She brought it in front of them, her hand not opening, the question still in her eyes.

Ranma tried to pull away, so Akane brought her hands down, away from him. He focused his anger on something more solid than her question. "What were you **thinking**?" he demanded as he looked up at her. In his cursed form, she was slightly taller than he was, giving him a disadvantage when he scolded her. "You could have died!"

"No, I wouldn't have. You wouldn't let me." There was conviction behind those words lending strength to her answer. Then she said the next words softer, but giving it no less weight, "I believe in you."

For the second time that night, her words scared him. What was it like to have someone's complete faith? To have someone's blind trust? To have someone's life on his hands? He'd experienced those feelings on the battlefield, but never with someone like Akane. What could he say to that? "You don't know me well enough to offer me your belief." He didn't intend for the words to sound as harsh as they did, but he didn't know how else to say them.

There was a flash of hurt in her eyes that he ignored. "Let me thank you then," she begged him, the breaking of her voice almost tangible. "At least, let me thank you."

Ranma stood there impassively, allowing Akane her gratitude, waiting as Akane pulled herself close to him. Because of the difference in height, Akane crouched low. When her face stopped inches from his cheek, Ranma whispered, "A simple 'thank you' would do."

Ranma saw her smile from the corner of his eye as she leaned closer, pressing her lips on his ear although there was a lack of contact. He felt the words rather than heard it. The waves were stronger than her shaking voice.

And then she was an arm's length distance from him again. Formal. He was the daimyo of Sagami once more, and she was his guest. The transition was fluid and almost undetectable.

"My samurai should be by the edge of Serpent's Bluff," Ranma informed her gruffly. "Excuse my wife, my lady, she's touched by the kami. Your siblings are worried for your health. I'll inform them that you're safe. It's time you rested."

As soon as he saw a samurai, he explained where Akane was, and that her comfort was to be seen to. He brushed his hand angrily against the splash of skin that Akane's breath touched, but the phantom caress from her whisper did not leave him.

In his memory, in the entire eighteen years that he had been cursed, Akane was the only person who treated his girl form with the same weight as his normal form. Shampoo might have professed her love whenever he was male, but she always had a kettle of water ready when he was female. She still actively hated his girl form, probably because she did try to kill 'her' for weeks. Ukyo just didn't factor the curse into the equation. She treated it like it didn't exist, a nuisance to be dealt with when she must.

"Stop it," Ranma berated himself as soon as he ascended the pathway towards Rose Brier. 'She's leaving, you can't keep her. You can't make her stay even if she's different from all the rest of your fiancées.'

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Ranma co. were borrowed from the brilliant mind of Rumiko Takahashi. The original story was based on a book, _When there is Hope_.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Added scene**, Kikuko torture scene, thanks to **Jourdan Bickham **for pointing it out.

I was going to research Japanese tortures, I finally ended up with some rope tortures anyway. I used hojojutsu here, and majority of the knowledge comes from the page made for BDSM by Tatu. Let me say that Hojojutsu is different from Shibari (a form of BDSM), because shibari is the 19th century spin-off of the martial art. There's nothing erotic about hojojutsu. Most of the info I learned were from Mr. Tatu's page as well as Wikipedia and Hojojutsue by Richard Cleaver also found in Mr. Tatu's page.

Sohin was largely reluctant for torturing Kikuko because I was reluctant at torturing Kikuko. I did not want the emotional baggage that was included with torturing people. It's simply not good for the characters, but it couldn't be helped. Besides Sohin is new at this entire liege lord business, he's bound to be reluctant to do something so inhumane.

Another difficulty I had was, Sohin, Ifuku and Akane were leaving the very next day. Because they need to rally men to them. A lot of the Japanese tortures involves a couple of days. The ebi position or the prawn position is usually left on the person until the person turns first red, then purple then blue. If Kikuko is tied into the position after she becomes light blue, she will die. And since this is a torture for information, people did not like their prisoners dying, just in a world of pain.

A good deal of Nabiki's sentiments about torture was probably influenced by Anne Bishop's _Realms of the Blood _trilogy. I think Nabiki slightly parallel's Daemonar in that aspect. If you like fantasy and don't mind that the lead is a woman, try reading it.

Another difficulty I had was the number of soldiers. I realized after reading a good deal of fantasy books, Anne Bishop's _Tir Alainn, _Patricia Brigg's _Dragon Bones _and _Dragon Blood_, the entire _Wheel of Time_ series by Robert Jordan as well as Elizabeth Vaughan's _Warprize _and _Warsworn_ that a thousand soldiers were fullblown wars that involved kingdoms, for battles involving keeps (unless it's of epic proportions like JRR Tolkien's _Lord of the Rings _which was classic good vs. evil) requires around sixty. So uh, Ranma having three and holding a good deal of land would probably have around 200-300 soldiers at his disposal. Happosai who has the entire clan behind him around 1,000 or so. Sanuki should have around 1,000 too, if they have time to rally all banners to themselves, but has around 500 in the keep itself (it's the main stronghold). Anyway, I've corrected that here. I really should read more war books before I continue making these kinds of things.

This is the continuation of the New Year's chapter from 15. While Chapter 15 was the MORNING and AFTERNOON of ganjitsu, chapter 16 is the evening and early next day. This has to be the longest DAY in the entire fic, the inauguration coming in second. I was thinking, 'What the hell, what the hell, could all of this fit in one day?' It took me a while to release this chapter because I had to finish editing all the other chapters from "COMMON ERRORS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE" go figure.

WELL, isn't everyone happy? Let's see a show of hands. Who wanted Akane and Kodachi to exchange bodies? Who expected Sohin to be Eruchii?

And the doozy. Did you expect Akane to be sent away?

Yes, I was leaning towards switching the bodies. --; You don't understand how many SCENES I scrapped in four years trying to write down how they would change bodies. I was thinking, it was either too magical, too surreal or too ... not rend material. I was going to post several of those deleted scenes, but they got deleted with my harddrive crash earlier last year, and therefore, are irretrievable. Some of them had Ifuku and Sohin as caretakers of some ancient lore.

"The body and the soul are connected, and the soul yearns for its half as well as its house. The kiss calls out to the soul. The blood calls out to the body." Then we were going to do an entire ritual where Kodachi has to kiss Akane and Kodachi also wounds her. The wound would tell the body of the soul. The kiss would tell the soul of the body. But it was all so mystical, and all sooo, not rend material that I had to rewrite it.

As for the test that determined Akane's person. I have to say that, Jusenkyo being Shampoo's punishment from the elders has been in Ranma fanfiction long enough (just as Cologne is 'matriarch/elder' of the Amazon tribe). Kodachi being left handed came to me when I was writing this, so if you'll notice looking back at the chapters, it's mentioned that Kodachi uses her LEFT hand while Akane uses her right. It's rare, but I do point it out occasionally. Just to wonder if anyone is going to catch on to the little difference.

Cologne talks about going back to China before Chinese new year. I have talked to a Japanese person last week and he told me that Chinese New Year is really in a different date from New Year in Japan. Next he told me that all the tolling of the bells were synchronized in Japan, and finally that the rhythm of the bells were bong 8 seconds bong 8 seconds etc etc. There's this Ryoga-Ukyo fic where they do the nasty in time with the bells... the author didn't know the rhythm of the bells either so now that I know and I get that picture... I realize that it must have been difficult for them /

For this chapter, I researched Kyudo and archery. If you wonder if both the arrows could be loosed from a single bow through the way Ranma did it, let me just say that I remembered the move from Robin Hood. Yeah, Kevin Costner, he tore off the fletching and then drew it and then hit the soldiers. He is Robin Hood you know. Whether you could do that... I'm not sure, but I do know for a fact that the big bow that Ranma's drawing here will cause bruises if not handled properly because the bowstring, when loosed, could hit the arm, as well as the face. I am taking the entire Kevin Costner scene at face value.

I also researched poisons. I wrote out the poisons long before I became a med student. Lin Ke and Pin Ke are two people from the manga with no anime equivalents. All the antics mentioned above were real. One of the twins did manage to poison everyone, and another tried to 'heal' them. The healer could be distinguished by the frown on her face, because people usually K.O. her before they realize that she's the twin of the person who poisoned them and not the same person.

Up next is a Kuno chapter. It's also a Nabiki chapter. Sometimes I think I write Kuno off and then I realize that I haven't yet. It's extremely disconcerting.

As a precaution, I usually don't post scenes I delete from a chapter. But because the reason I deleted this was more because it was too cheesy for the entire chapter rather than bad plot line twist, I am going to post it. I did delete a part from the end at Jourdan's insistence though so the deleted scenes are incomplete.

It pained me that I had to delete it but it doesn't mean that it won't be read. From 25,789 to 24,764 words because of cheese to 26,691 because of the Kikuko 'torture' scene. Honestly, 3 pages of reluctance. This is the longest chapter to date.

Additionally, thanks to H. Cobb and S. Palm for the grammar edits of the initial part of the story.

iCe

* * *

**website: **ice _dot _esmartdesign _dot _com  
**email**: siuane _at_ gmail _dot_ com  
**livejournal**: ice _underscore_ of _underscore _dreams

* * *

**DELETED SCENES **

wondering where to send someone who didn't have any other place to go but here.

Wondering where he would find the strength to let her go.

* * *

Ranma came out of the room he'd met Sohin in just as Akane was rounding the corner. There was no one in the halls since everyone was out celebrating ganjitsu in the dojo. The halls were devoid of all servants and samurai and it cast a silence that she had not associated with Rose Brier. 

She opened her mouth to call out to him, but in the next second all he knew was that their lips touched and they both were unable to pull away. It was then that he realized that whatever was between the two of them had become something beyond control.

She leaned back against one of the wooden posts as he moved forward, her hands on his hair and his on the small of her back. He gave her everything and took everything from her.

And then he pulled away, moved back from her swiftly without breaking momentum. Without a word, he turned towards the other side of the hallway and left.

Akane opened her mouth in protest and in frustrated anger, but she closed it again realizing that there was nothing more to say. That moment told her with alarming clarity that he'd decided she was going to leave. That there was something between them this strong, but just as the kiss, wordless and could not be captured again.

He was married, this was all that he was willing to give her. He was now sending her away.

* * *

As soon as Ranma managed to acquire hot water, he changed and informed the Tendo siblings of Akane's whereabouts. He spent some time explaining to his sister and the Tendo siblings what had happened but was finally able to break away from all the guests that were awake at that ungodly hour. He managed to arrive in his room without walking into anyone other than the maids. 

Stripping off his shirt, Ranma gratefully fell on the futon, dangling his black shirt on his fingers. It had dried some while before, in the middle of his tired insistence to the head of the Tendo clan that Akane was all right. The night was chilly, but after moving around, he was moderately warm and his shirt was decidedly filthy. He wanted a bath, but he was more tired than he was dirty and going to the bath seemed too much work now that he was settled.

He sighed willing himself to fall into sleep, but sleep never came easy to him, especially so soon after a fight. Adrenaline was still high in his system because of the night's events. He rolled over to his side only to find out that he was **definitely** not alone in his quarters.

"I was wondering when you'd notice me," Akane whispered. She was wearing a white yukata. It made her easy to see in the dark, for the white caught the reflection of the silvery wisps of the moon from his small window. Her hair spilled loosely around her shoulders. The stark contrast of her hair against the white made her seem almost surreal.

Ranma attributed his lack of attention to weariness but didn't move from his position from the futon. He didn't want to find out if his control would waver in front of her. "I thought I requested you leave without meeting," he reminded her, closing his eyes to pretend sleep or even half sleep.

She walked closer and knelt before the futon, her hair barely touching his skin, as she peered at him. "I wanted to see you," her words hung in the air.

Ranma opened his eyes in irritation. That was his first mistake. She was looking down on him, her hair spilling over, her eyes looking down into his, hands on either side of his shoulders. Although he knew he probably could throw her out, he felt trapped. He weighed his words before replying, "You leave early tomorrow."

She leaned closer. Ranma felt the first pangs of panic though she never made contact. She was just hovering there, her cheek barely touching his, her breath hot against his ear. Moving her cheek agonizingly slow against his, she closed her eyes as she almost, but not quite, touched her lips against his chin. The only contact she made as she mimicked the moves of touching his face was when her eyelashes brushed his jaw, when her nose was almost hovering at his neck.

Ranma's arm shot out to push her away, but he only succeeded in making her look up into his eyes. "What could have been, but never was," she whispered and when Ranma began to formulate his protest, Akane leaned down and settled her lips over his.

He had kissed her before, but this time, it was Akane's taste that was left on his lips, and he groaned because he knew it was going to be painful to let her go, because he wanted her so much to stay.

He finally managed to push her away. "What do you want Akane? Torture? Because what you're doing will haunt us both for the rest of our lives."

"When I wanted to leave, you kept me here." There was desperation in her voice, tinged with anger. "You have no business asking me to leave now that you've made me want to stay."

"You think this is easy for me?" he demanded, wanting her to understand the choice he was forced to make. "I've lived until now because I didn't know any way else to live, because I didn't know what life could be like. I knew no happiness, but life was constant. You tempt me with things I cannot afford to have."

"I forgot you hold your honor like a shield," Akane whispered accusingly as she slowly withdrew. "You would never take me because I am not your wife, even if you want me." Proudly she stood, and left the room as silently as she had stolen in.

Even now, all he wanted to do was beg her to stay. But he couldn't. He has an entire fiefdom to protect. He had the entire Sagami to protect. He could not leave Sagami, and Akane could not stay in Sagami with him. One of them had to leave.

And he wished that it didn't have to be her.

-- End deleted scenes of chapter 16 ----


	18. Part 17: January

**Revision History::**  
06/02/07 – Minor grammar revisions on wording (FFML upload)  
11/16/06 – Added Nabiki-Kuno scene about Kodachi on Gangsta Spanksta's suggestion  
11/06/06 – Revised beggining scene and Sei-Ranma scene  
05/24/06 – Release Date

* * *

**Special Thanks to:**  
Tin  
Ellen Kuhfeld  
Jourdan Bickham  
Gangsta Spanksta

* * *

It matters not how strait the gate,  
How charged with punishments the scroll,  
I am the master of my fate:  
I am the captain of my soul.  
_Invictus  
_**William Ernest Henley **

* * *

**Rendezvous with Fate v.3**  
by iCe  
Chapter 17

_...Sometimes, I wonder what happened when we left Rose Brier. It's either it was too insignificant to merit a story, or too painful to relive again..._

* * *

It had only been a few hours since Akane's departure and Kodachi's return, however, the impact of the change was almost immediately noticeable. The house was silent and fear was palpable in the air. It was as if a mere whisper could shatter the tenuous peace that blanketed the household.

Since it was only the second day of the New Year's festivities, most of the other servants had not returned to the household yet. Because of this, Nabiki took it upon herself to check on the members of the house that had been injured from the excitement the day before.

Picking the basin of water she had been filling by the well just outside of their yard, Nabiki strode purposefully towards Omokage's room. Although someone had already tended to him, Nabiki sensed there were still questions that needed to be answered and it would be best to do so while checking on his injuries. The least of these questions were about his sudden disappearance from the household.

When she opened the shoji to the room that had been given to him to recover, she found that Omokage was already up. His sword was by his side and he was executing maneuvers that were taught to the samurai within Saotome ranks since childhood.

She smiled ruefully at his eagerness to get out of the sick bed. He had been badly beaten up. When he broke out into the graceful finale Nabiki finally spoke, "Excellent form, Omokage-san."

He was startled by her voice, but quickly straightened up and gave her a proper bow. Nabiki motioned for him to sit as she placed the water basin in front of her. She wet the small towel that she had brought as she examined him. "Your bindings need to be changed, Omokage-san. You've been exerting yourself."

Some of the bandages were soaked through from the wounds he had incurred while running away from their captors. "Lady Nabiki --"

Nabiki cut off the protest with one glance. "Remove your shirt, Omokage-san," she ordered as she tilted her head to look at him. "I've heard from Ifuku that you fought alongside her when she tried to move out of Saotome borders."

"I was going to bring her back, my lady," he said as he removed the shirt. Nabiki proceeded to take off the bloodied bandages and clean the reopened wounds with a little smile of disapproval at his exercise. When the towel touched his skin, Omokage winced, but continued with his explanation, "But she had your permission and she was desperate to reach her husband."

Nabiki smiled at that. Even in close captivity, Omokage never knew of the secret between the brother and sister. It must have been very hard for Sohin to break the secret after twenty years of hiding it. "Desperate to reach her husband?"

"Desperate to protect her brother as well, my lady," he said ruefully as he rubbed his wrist. "She was poisoned in an encounter at the border, but she refused to return to Rose Brier."

That, Ifuku left out in her account. Nabiki wondered what other things the girl kept from her. "So, you were the samurai at the border. Tell me, were you the one who killed the woman, or was it Ifuku?"

"It was me," the bold declaration confirmed the facts in her head about Omokage's skill as well as Ifuku's own. At least the woman was not a liability in a fight. She could handle herself if she ever found herself being pushed by samurai.

Now the mystery about the Tendo household was cleared. It was one thing off her to-do list. The more pressing concerns were the border attacks and the torching of the two cities. She was no closer to solving those two mysteries than she had been when Ranma first told her of his worries.

Omokage began a full narration of what happened from the moment of the fight to the moment that they managed to escape. Nabiki mulled over the facts while she cleaned the wound and redressed it. "Is there anything else you noticed that you might think is important?"

"When we were in captivity, my lady, Kodachi released a cat near Rose Brier at least once a day." He paused, weighing his words before he spoke again, "She had a whole house devoted to breeding them."

'The increase of the cat population,' Nabiki thought as she finished up with the bindings and cleaned her hands. "Rest first before training, Omokage."

"Yes, my lady," he answered as he started to cover himself up to dress.

Nabiki nodded and left the room to have a small talk with her brother. Ranma found her before she could find him. She gave him a frown before starting, "I know how the cat population suddenly increased in these parts."

He had a perplexing look on his face as he followed her towards their rooms. He waited for her to finish and she continued to speak in Chinese because of the volatility of the subject, "_It's your wife's fault. Although on the matter of **why** I could only guess._"

"Actually, I think I've already found out the **why** in this whole matter," Ranma thought out loud as Nabiki closed the shoji behind them for privacy.

"It's suspicious, but I do know that Kodachi has been strategically placing cats here. But even if I know who has been arranging it, it seems like an illogical plan." The Cat-Fist was something that evoked raw uninhibited power. To place cats throughout their area, where they could trigger that power, didn't make any sense.

"Look at it this way. No one knows anything about the Neko-Ken. It's some old crappy thing pops found somewhere. People already forgot what it was." Ranma turned to Nabiki. He had thought about it for some time and he could find no flaws in his logic. "But one thing is obvious: we're terrified of cats."

Nabiki frowned at the implications Ranma presented. "She's trying to drive us out of Rose Brier with the use of our ailurophobia? It's less than honorable and far less efficient than a normal attack."

"Not if she thinks it's going to get her Sagami. Besides, have you seen yourself careening away from a cat lately?" From experience, Ranma knew that just the sight of the animals drove both of them crazy. It was only through the Neko-ken that they would get over the fear. "So what do you think?"

Nabiki smiled as she looked at her brother. "Most of the time, I wonder if we are related. Times like these prove me wrong."

"I do believe you just complemented me, Nabiki." Ranma grinned as he sat down across the table. "So, what do we do about Kodachi?"

"I will try to ask her brother if he could talk to Kodachi," Nabiki proposed as she pulled a couple of papers from her desk. They were running out of options with regard to Kodachi. After eight years of living together, you tend to use up all the viable punishments. Nabiki smiled ruefully before she joked, "If all else fails, we could just stick a sword in her back and feed her to the wolves."

* * *

Kodachi passed by one of the lower rooms of Rose Brier. She raised her eyebrow at the two samurai stationed by the shoji. She gave an amused smile, Nabiki knew how to hide her prisoners from Kodachi but Kodachi had always been lucky.

She usually didn't go by these rooms because she didn't want to concern herself with the samurai, but the pigeon house was close to the samurai rooms and she wanted to check if Ranma had carrier birds for the notes that she planned to send out.

"You there, what business is being held in this room?" Kodachi demanded from the guards.

"We were just asked to guard the room, my lady," the curt reply was standard from one of Nabiki's chosen samurai. So was the decided lack of information.

Kodachi reached for the shoji to slide it open, when the guard's katana blocked her entrance. "Please, my lady, you do not wish to see what's behind that door."

She backhanded the insolent man and raised her eyebrow. If she had not been away, they would not dare to show her this much insolence. "You forget yourself, samurai."

She opened the door again stepping inside the darkly lit holding chambers. She lit a lantern and noticed the woman tied up in the middle of the room.

Kodachi laughed at the sight. Hojojutsu, she had not known that one of the samurai in the Saotome household knew of the art, although she should have expected it. Having been from a culture of 'take no prisoners' until recently, the art of tying prisoners had been useless until the new prisons were mandated a while ago.

She gave a cursory glance at the black ropes that were tied along the prisoner's body. As expected, the ties were different from the ones that she knew of, and no amount of tampering would enable her to loosen the ropes short of a sword and that particular object she did not carry with her.

The prisoner's skin was lightly tinged with purple. If she turned blue, the hojojutsu practitioner would have to loosen her ties up and proceed to the tanuki position else risk killing her and defeating the purpose of torture in the first place.

Kodachi reached for the woman's head and a scream erupted from her gagged mouth. Kodachi brought the lantern closer and smiled when she noticed who it was. "Ahh, Kikuko of the Tendo samurai. Has your arrogance led you to this? Captured and tortured in Saotome territory."

Before she could do anything more, the shoji slid open. "Who dares--"

"Just because you are tolerated in this house, Kodachi, it doesn't mean that I give you leave to do anything you want." Ranma cut her off, snatching the lantern off her hands. Nabiki was immediately by Kikuko's side examining the rope bindings.

Kodachi narrowed her eyes at the siblings. "My brief respite from this household has given you more courage than I remember when I left. A year ago you would not have spoken against me."

"A year ago, I was naïve enough to believe you would change, foolish enough to leave you alone, and stupid enough to trust you would stop before you hurt anyone that mattered," Ranma admitted, and it was rare that Ranma Saotome admit to any failing. "I can't be naïve, stupid and foolish for you anymore, Kodachi."

Kodachi's gaze swiveled to Nabiki as Ranma forcefully dragged her out of the room. Nabiki was looking at Kodachi with narrowed eyes, the type that usually meant she was thinking of trouble for her.

Ranma and Kodachi's exit was punctuated by a scream from Kikuko. Kodachi briefly looked at the woman, then at Nabiki again. It was a warning. By making Kikuko scream in front of her, Nabiki was stating clearly what she was capable of doing. What she was now willing to do.

-

Nabiki turned back to Kikuko and tapped her fingers against her back, it was a light motion, but enough to send prickling pain down the rest of the woman's body.

After the last scream, Kikuko did not want to oblige her with another one. Nabiki shrugged, having experienced the prawn position when she was being taught the rope maneuvers she could imagine the feeling Kikuko was experiencing. After a while the pain just became a buzzing in the far corners of your head, making you incapable of thought, because you did not know where the next attack would come from.

"Well, it seems like Lady Kodachi has started our daily session early," Nabiki said cheerfully taking one of the large hemp whips that she had left behind for use with Kikuko. "I told you I wanted the layout of the house, you keep telling me lies."

In truth, Nabiki already knew much about the layout of the Tendo castle. Just as Ranma had explained to Sohin, it had been in Genma's subterfuge training while earning their food. As a starter question, it told her the time when Kikuko was broken.

One lash. "Manage a whimper if you want to tell me something, my dear."

Two lashes. "Did you whimper?"

Silence. "Ahh, we're still down to this courageous silence and noble deceit." Three lashes. "I always thought courage was quite overrated. Do try not to faint before I ask another important question. I assure you, I'm not going to let you die until I find out all I want to hear from you."

* * *

Akane looked back at the way they had come from, willing it to show someone running along, trying to catch up with her, telling her that everything would be all right. But the road remained empty of people. She sighed again as she shifted the pack that she was carrying and moved on.

Ifuku noticing her rather down spirits said, "Don't worry, my lady --"

"He's not coming for you," Sohin intercepted the kind words his sister was going to say to Akane. Ifuku shot him a sour glance as she placed a hand on Akane's shoulder, as if it could minimize the hurtful thought. "Do not coddle her, Ifuku. It's best she learns that the Saotomes are in her past. It would not do if she's broken before she even fights."

"I am not some horse to be **broken**, Sohin-san," Akane retorted with anger at her supposed brother. "Don't you realize that my world has suddenly turned upside down **again**? I was happy to be dead!"

"It would have been better if you had **remained** dead," Sohin countered as he jumped up towards one of the branches of the trees. Akane stamped her foot in disgust as Sohin effectively cut their conversation short.

"Your **brother** is incorrigible!" Akane complained as she slumped towards one of the bigger rocks on the road, which proved uncomfortably warm since it had been soaking up the heat of the sun since the morning. "How do you stand him?"

Ifuku shielded her eyes to locate her brother among the trees, a little irked at playing the arbiter for the two of them. Sohin did not show an inch of consideration for Akane's state, which gave Akane an excuse to fuel her anger. She sat down beside Akane. "My **husband**," Ifuku stressed, reminding Akane of the charade, "is not usually like this. He is edgy. He doesn't like you coming along."

"I haven't noticed," Akane said sarcastically as Sohin took his time jumping from tree to tree. The three did not take a conventional path towards the next city for fear that more Tendo samurai would wait them on the roads, thus needing Sohin to constantly pick out their direction. Although there were offers for samurai accompaniment, Sohin refused, saying that numbers would only draw attention to themselves. "He hates me."

"He is your brother now," Ifuku reminded her gently as she mopped a bit of the sweat that fell from her forehead with a handkerchief. She was dressed in one of the men's peasant clothes for easier movement, and Ifuku concealed her femininity well. "He does not hate you, he is just uncertain of you. We have stayed hidden because of trust, Lady Akane. He does not know if he can trust you."

"Fine, I can leave --"

"Leaving is out of the question," Sohin stated as he jumped down from the trees and began the trek again. "You have been entrusted to us, and you will remain with us."

Trying to change the subject, Ifuku began, "Your marital comb, Sohin. You gave it to Lady Nabiki. Why?"

"She did not explain Kuno to you?" Sohin stopped walking and turned to face Ifuku with a puzzled expression. "Surely --"

"You would not give her the comb unless you chose her, Sohin," Ifuku interrupted, momentarily forgetting that Akane was with them. "You told me when we were children you would not be like father, trapped by a woman he was married to. That you would choose the woman whom --"

Sohin turned around, his pace quickening. "It was a childish wish Ifuku. You forget that I'm not ten years old anymore. I am not allowed the frivolity of what you are implying, **wife**."

Ifuku winced at what he had called her, reminding her that she had a role to play, and that he was displeased at what she had brought up. Akane looked at the two of them, suddenly comprehending what had passed. Gleeful at the new piece of information she ran up to Sohin and blocked him off. "You're angry at **me** because I was sent away like **you**."

"Does she always have to state the obvious as soon as she realizes the not so obvious, or is it just me?" Sohin mocked.

"Ahh," Ifuku paused as she looked at her brother. "Should I answer what you've vaguely hinted at or just answer the question?"

"It was rhetorical." Sohin moved around Akane before she managed to grab his hand to remind him of her presence. "I don't harbor illusions the way you harbor the illusion that Lord Ranma loves you. I have obligations, Lady **Akane**, and none of those involve the Lady Nabiki in **any** way."

"Lady Akane!" Ifuku pleaded as she came up and then placed her hand against Akane's shoulder. "Please, let's not fight amongst ourselves. We are in a time where love is a forbidden word. We cannot love because we are born with obligation heavier than this emotion. We cannot afford to love. We marry because we must."

"My life was much simpler than this." Akane grimaced following Ifuku's lead.

"This happens to be your life right now," Sohin reminded her sternly then motioned towards the land ahead of them. "Let's see if I can get your head back into what we were doing."

"We're moving towards one of our old vassal's houses. He has some samurai, but not many," Ifuku murmured following Sohin's lead in instructing Akane. "We will ask similar people for help."

"How many samurai do the Tendos have?" Akane asked, frowning.

"Not as many as the Saotomes, but maybe a bit more than Lord Ranma can spare." Sohin answered automatically leaving out the details. "However, what Tendo samurai we can gather to our banner would be low on morale. These people have been loyal to the three of us, and we have not shown our faces on Tendo land for so long."

"Which is why it's essential that all three of us be there when we move against Lady Chisei," Ifuku explained to Akane. "It is a show of solidarity on our part. It will boost morale."

"We're going to war, then?" Akane asked, surprised and a little bit terrified. She'd never been in a battle more serious than against a burglar, and that already seemed ages ago.

"I hate it when people are melodramatic." Sohin pursed his lips. "It's little more than a skirmish. However Lady Chisei is a very competent fighter. I won't fight her for the land if we can win it through subtlety instead."

"You mean she's going to make an appearance if we attack the Tendo Halls directly?" Akane asked incredulously. "She must be what? Fifty?"

"She's just five years older than I am," Sohin muttered clenching his hands again. "Father was given such a young wife. Hell, she could be my wife."

"No wonder she couldn't conceive. You're not seriously contemplating marriage to your father's wife, are you?" Akane asked incredulously. "How old was she when she married your father?"

"Too young," Ifuku conceded shaking her head. "She was given to father when Sohin was eight. Father had concubines and children long before he had a legal wife. But she was fit for marriage by that time. She could have produced an heir."

"I doubt that a marriage with Chisei would be wise. She was reared with power and will not want her 'son' to bask in its radiance before hers." Sohin shook his head. "She will want more than what I can give her."

"Why exactly are we going back to Tendo territory again? Isn't living out here enough?" Akane motioned the way back towards Rose Brier. "It would be simpler, at least. Or do you have delusions of grandeur too?"

"I'm not thinking of myself. Do you understand what she is to the people we hold? We've been hiding most of our lives because she hunts us down like rats," Sohin spat the word out. "Yuki-sama will be old enough to rule in a few years, and **he** will be forced into hiding soon. Hiding is not the way to live. "

"The lands around us have progressed, yet Sanuki has stagnated. Lady Chisei squanders the coffers to pretty up her homes, and what are a few towns lost to attackers for her?" Ifuku looked up towards the sky. "She increases taxes but does not move for progress. She doesn't even realize that the more she loses the towns on the border, the more open she is to attack."

"Less tithes, too," Akane muttered.

Ifuku gave her a smile. "There is that. Lady Chisei thrives on power. She will not let it go. She would not even give us peace."

"Remaining in Saotome land would be cowardly and selfish of us. Especially since Yuki-sama's life would be on the line," Sohin explained. Yuki was the young heir since the three of them were missing, and Yuki was fortunate enough to end up in Sohin's care. "I will not put him on the sacrificial stone as well."

"And when we die from this ordeal, it will be Yuki-sama who inherits the land." Ifuku smiled turning to Akane. "He is intelligent, yet moving around has hindered his learning. He barely knows what he must."

"We should talk about this in a safer area," Sohin, always cautious said, looking around the trees for any company that might have sneaked up on them. "Although we are still on Saotome land, it is negligent of us to talk in such an open space."

Because she agreed, Akane didn't ask more questions. Getting to know her new 'siblings' would have to wait another time. 'Hell, I seem to have plenty of time anyway.'

* * *

Sei was not fond of archery. His arm was already black and blue from the bowstring hitting it, and the protectors did not help him. It was a wonder he hadn't already hit his face or ear. At least it told him that he was releasing the string properly, to some extent. He had a good aim with most of his other weapons, but he could not perfect archery.

And ever since the entire ordeal at New Year, everyone had been making archery an important part of their daily regimen. Including his teachers. He did not understand why he had to practice kyudo so much. The bow as a weapon on a horse was replaced by the katana as a samurai status symbol years ago. Sei frowned when he noticed he was griping. Kyudo was a useful skill, but he was just extremely bad at it. Hanae hit another bull's-eye with her bow. Her fifteenth one today.

He loosed his own arrow. Bull's-eye as well. His eyes narrowed at it. Hanae laughed as she put down the bow against the racks. "You never like things you don't excel in, Sei."

"I'm hitting the red dot," Sei muttered, putting his own bow away. He unstrapped the arrows that he was carrying from their case and laid it beside his bow.

"I said excel," Hanae corrected him as she sat on the floor watching him gulp down water from an earthenware cup set out for them by his foster mother. "You're precise, but not accurate. You hit the exact general area, so if you hit the periphery your arrows cluster around the periphery."

"Hanae, what's the point of this conversation?" Sei asked irritated, placing the cup down and glaring at her. "You're better at me than this?"

"Did'ja see the people leaving the house after ganjitsu?" Hanae asked after a while. Sei was amazed at Hanae's ability to shift from one topic to the other. "Three people. One man, two women. Ifuku was one of them."

Sei took a towel and wiped it over his face. "Hanae, I know you take pride in all the coming and goings of the house, but why do you think I'd pay attention?"

"'Cause I know you better," she said with a grand smile. "You've been suspicious of Sohin-san ever since he brought 'Nty Nabiki home from Yokohama."

Usually, he and Hanae were inseparable when they were allowed to take their lessons together. With Kodachi in Rose Brier most of the time, Hanae was usually away. However, this was one of the times when he preferred she just mind her own business. "Hanae, she's my mother. I don't have any say with the choices she makes."

She jumped up so she could be beside him. "Hey, Sei, you know, Sohin-san's really a Tendo liege lord."

Sei raised an eyebrow as he picked up his bow again. He strapped the arrows and moved towards the targets without replying to Hanae. Hanae was used to his silence so she continued, "He's going to Sanuki."

Sei fired one shot. It missed the red circle and landed on the next inner circle in the bale of hay.

"He's going to pass by Ise."

Sei took another arrow and fired. It missed the red circle, but was extremely close to his first arrow. Hanae was right, he was more precise than accurate.

"He's going to pass by Ikkasei land."

When Sei fired another shot, he managed to miss the bale of hay completely. He glared at Hanae. "I knew that."

She had an 'I told you so' smile on her face. He realized belatedly that he'd just proved her point of 'paying attention'. "Then what are you going to do about it?"

"If I go to my father, I doubt I'll be able to return here at all," Sei informed her. The smile was wiped away from her face. He was her only playmate. The only cousin whom she spent her days with. Most of the younger children did not have as rigid a training in martial arts as she did. "I don't want to leave mother alone."

"Which is why you're going to provide safe passage for Sohin-san," Hanae insisted.

Sei rolled his eyes. Whenever Hanae got one of her notions, she never lets go. She was just eight years old. Where the hell did she get these ideas? "You just want me to have a father and not share yours."

That earned him a solid punch to his arm. He dropped the bow because of the hit, which would have earned him a scolding if his teacher was present. All serious kyudo practitioners treat their bow reverently. The yumi was made by a skilled bowmaker, and his teacher stresses that the yumi has the bowmaker's spirit within it.

He leaned down to pick up the weapon, apologizing to it earnestly, before he addressed Hanae, "I'm sorry, Hanae, but mother would not be pleased if we meddled in her affairs. And do you really want me to leave her alone?"

"Then run away again!" Hanae ordered. Sei wondered where she got her imperiousness. She certainly did not get it from her father or his mother. "It's your happiness or hers, which would you choose?"

Sei closed his eyes. He knew he'd lost this argument before it even started. He almost always let Hanae talk him into things. "You're not expecting to come along, are you?"

"Of course I am."

"No way. Your father is going to whip me if he finds out I brought you with me," Sei said with an emphatic shake of the head. Not that Ranma would actually take a whip to him, it wasn't his style. But Sei was making a point. "Besides, if I return, I'd have to tell my father I was lost and Sohin brought me home. I can't very well say I was living here. We'd start a war."

"Oh." At least Hanae understood consequences. She gave way to better judgment when war was involved. Unfortunately for him, war did not involve a lot of things. Like the time when she talked him into sneaking into the eta village, or taking a midnight dip when she didn't know how to swim.

They had been punished with one hundred curl ups. And then running around the dojo for an entire day. He hated running in a confined space, it was all so -- boring.

'I just have to devise a way for him to let me receive my training in Saotome land,' Sei thought as he picked up his bow again. He aimed and fired.

Bull's eye.

Sei grinned. Training with Ikkasei samurai was unacceptable. His father would just have to accept that Sei was determined to train in Saotome territory.

-

As soon as the two of them were finished with their drills, Hanae headed towards the rooms to fetch them a change of clothes for a bath. His foster mother had already laid down a set for both of them, so it took little time for her to get their bathing things and the change of clothes before heading outside.

Sei, who had been left behind to put away their bows, was going to meet her outside the bath house. As soon as she rounded the corner of the garden towards the bath house, she found Kodachi leaving the furo. Hanae stopped in her tracks.

"Hanae," Kodachi called for her, the woman had spotted her as soon as she had arrived. "I didn't know you were in the house."

A shiver went up Hanae's spine. She had not wanted to meet Kodachi. Since Akane's arrival, she had grown lax around the house. Whereas before she could have gone without meeting Kodachi for years, now, she managed to bump into the woman after only several days.

"One year was added to your age this ganjitsu, that makes you... eight already?" Kodachi declared with a disarming smile as she approached Hanae. She leaned down and brushed a hand against Hanae's face "Have you passed your assessment yet?"

Kodachi was talking about the assessment before the training trip, Hanae shook her head. Kodachi smiled as she leaned her head closer. "You're a slow learner, aren't you? How could you be useful as his heir if you're an idiot? I know you can't help being a bastard, but you could do better in your training you know. I guess that's why he hasn't named you heir yet."

Before Kodachi could say anymore, Hanae was pulled back and Sei was standing in front of her. "Aunt Kodachi, you do not know much of Anything Goes. You cannot judge Hanae's abilities."

Kodachi backhanded him in the face. Sei's head snapped to the side, but he held his ground. Hanae gripped his shoulder to pull him away but he whispered, "Don't worry, Hanae."

Hanae clutched his hand desperately. How could she not worry? Kodachi had once bloodied a man beyond recognition for talking back to her. Her personal honor guard, when she was still in the Kuno household, bled daily for her. They each protected each other from lashes from her whip by receiving blows meant for another.

"You speak big words for all of your eight years, Ikkasei. Do you realize you're not in your lands?" Kodachi demanded. Hanae's knuckles had turned white, no one had uttered Sei's name since he had arrived here. "You are not heir here. You hold no power over me."

"But Aunt Kodachi, I am heir and that makes you fear me just a little. Because I hold land larger than yours. Because I will be someone of power someday."

Kodachi pulled back and laughed. "You can't be heir if you remain here Sei-kun, and you can't be someone of power if people think you are dead." She walked away as she flashed a smile at him. "Remember that."

Only when she disappeared into the inner house did Hanae let go of Sei's arm. "You shouldn't have fought her. She hates me enough. Don't let her hate you too."

Sei had a serious expression on his face as he studied her. "She can harm you. She can't harm me."

Hanae frowned at the thought. She had a constant samurai guard outside the house, but she had none inside Rose Brier. She was not heir, so no one expected her to be attacked. She was not heir, so she held no power. A double edged sword, that. "Still, you know better. Were you trying to get yourself killed?"

"I wasn't getting myself killed. I was trying to save you from getting killed." Sei laughed a little, the first Hanae had seen in a long while. Sei did not find a good number of things amusing. He did wince with pain and Hanae remembered that Kodachi had struck him hard.

Hanae frowned as she examined Sei's cheek. Sei waved her away, he had always been like that: refusing to let other people see his pain; pretending that nothing mattered; keeping all of his secrets. Hanae sighed, there was no changing him. There was too much of his mother in him. "You should let 'Nty Nabiki look at that."

"Look at what?" the person in question asked from beside Ranma. Both were just emerging from the samurai lodgings where one of the ganjitsu prisoners was held. She peered at the two of them before saying, "Sei, is your face swollen?"

"Yes, ma'am," he mumbled under his breath.

Nabiki raised an eyebrow then turned to Hanae. Ranma asked the question though, "What happened?"

There was a long stretch of silence before Hanae finally spoke up, "'Nt Kodachi got a little rough."

Ranma frowned as he started to go inside the house, but Sei's hand stilled him. Nabiki's gaze demanded an explanation and Sei said, "Please don't. It would make us look weak."

Ranma and Nabiki both looked at each other and sighed. Hanae understood that neither of them wanted to undermine any achievement that the children had attained with Kodachi. They relented. There were few things they could do to sanction Kodachi, and most had already been tried in the past.

They all knew that the only sanction left was of the permanent kind, and they didn't want to pay its price.

* * *

Kodachi brushed the finishing strokes of her letter to Happosai. Much of the money that she had stolen and stashed away that night with Cologne was already depleted. She had stopped the continuous attacks on Kamakura to save money from paying the mercenaries, but she had hoped that the fire in Yokohama and Nerima had upped the ante and replaced the petty border attacks.

She was getting bored with these mind games. Maybe the final straw would be the total detachment from a woman he claimed to love. She frowned over the thought of her husband loving someone other than her, but brushed it away.

Maybe Akane mangled her job here, but her loss would be greatly felt in the house. Without her, the people in this house would continue their existence as they had before, but without the drive that they had put initially in their work. They had tasted happiness, it would be a bitter pill to take it away. Happosai would be pleased with that, he finally would get his subservient martial artist.

At least Happosai was a great money source. Happosai had enough greed, enough motives and enough money to give her all she wanted. He was too desperate to get the twins where he wanted them. The twins had posed a threat to him ever since they took up the sword. Even when the two were young, all he could do was keep them in chains by marrying them to people who would restrict their growth.

Rolling her note smoothly, she moved towards the pigeon cage and selected one bound for Happosai's donjon. Pulling a white ribbon from her hair, she tied a small portion of it on the pigeon's foot. That was the pre-arranged marker Happosai told her.

She watched contentedly as the pigeon flew over the blue sky, flapping its wings and disappeared on the horizon. 'Well, then,' Kodachi thought as she pivoted to exit the pigeon house. 'Now that I have access to money again, I guess I just have to smoothen out the edges of this sordid affair.'

She had not expected Ranma to be at the doorstep when she returned to the main house. "What have you sent out, Kodachi?" His gaze was stern. She had expected a change of attitude from him, especially since her exchange of places with Akane, but Ranma seemed to have taken the switch in stride. He took her hand forcefully so she would face him.

Kodachi smiled, maybe there was a slight difference. He wasn't as unflappable as he was before. "And what, Ranma? Will you manhandle me into telling you what you already know? Have you changed so much as you'll hit a woman now, your own wife even?"

He let her go in disgust. "I wouldn't sink so low for you."

"Ahhh." Kodachi smiled, having successfully diverted the topic for a while. "How was Akane, Ranma? Did you take advantage of the fact that she was a docile wife?" She took his hand and let it rest in the inner folds of her kimono. "Did you force her to perform her marital duties?"

He snatched his hand away from her. "I'd forgotten you're vulgar. You disgust me." He glared at her. "You may be my wife, but I want nothing to do with you."

She smiled, reaching out for his face. "Oh, you loved me once, a long time ago. Did you love the amnesiac me as well?" She paused for a while when he jerked away from her. "Ah. I see. But you did not touch her, you are still mine."

He gave her a hard stare before he slowly told her, "I was never yours, Kodachi." With that he spun and left.

Kodachi smiled, fingering her hair. He did not continue to ask the contents of the letter after all.

-

Nabiki deposited the dead pigeon on Ranma's lap, smiling when he gave her a glare. "If we ever doubted that it was Happosai who wanted our lives ruined, I think that letter explains it."

Ranma took out the small note on the pigeon's foot and scanned it. Kodachi had been careless. The pigeon was shot down almost immediately. "You would think she wanted to be caught."

"I made samurai count the pigeons and one is missing from Happosai's donjon delivery," Nabiki answered wiping her hands with a small washcloth. "She's eager to fill in her coffers again with his money."

"Eager to see us dead," Ranma corrected crumpling the piece of paper in his hands. "We need to do something about Kodachi. I think we had better banish her somewhere. Maybe a nunnery"

Nabiki looked incredulous. "And have her wreaking havoc there? Are you joking? I'll take care of the matter."

"I should be the one to take care of her," Ranma countered, his voice hardening. "I'll arrange for it as soon as possible."

Frowning, Nabiki watched her brother go. 'No, a nunnery is too small a punishment for her,' She thought looking at the crumpled note. 'This won't do at all.'

-

Although Nabiki was surprised that Kuno was still in the Dragon Inn and within Kamakura, she did not question it. Arrangements to talk to the Kuno heir were easier, and it gave her leverage to talk to him within Saotome territory.

Asking an audience had been easy. Nabiki found herself being led by one of his retainers towards the garden where he was practicing. The inn's owner had told her that it was part of Kuno's morning routine. The samurai opened his mouth to announce her, but she stilled him with a soft touch and a small shake of her head. "Let them finish," she said quietly.

She watched Kuno go through maneuvers with the bokken with another samurai. She tilted her head a little. She had forgotten that Kuno had a decent sword hand. If you could ignore his idiosyncrasies, he was a good samurai in his own right.

As soon as he won the round, Kuno stopped. The combatants bowed to each other, and Kuno turned his attention to Nabiki, who had remained inside the porch overlooking the garden. Kuno swung his bokken around, handing it to a servant who was attending him, his eyes never leaving Nabiki's. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit, Lady Nabiki?"

Nabiki raised an eyebrow at the display but said slowly, "I was wondering if the threat of seppuku you mentioned with regard to Kodachi was truth or merely that, a threat."

Kuno frowned, accepted a towel from another servant, and then waved his hand to dismiss them for privacy. All of the samurai left except one guard who stood just inside the inn, far enough for privacy, close enough for a beckon.

Kuno wiped his face on the towel. Nabiki smiled as she moved smoothly from her place towards Kuno with her hand outstretched. "Allow me, my lord."

He gave her a dubious look but handed her the towel. She folded it neatly and patted it over his sweat soaked face. "What? No female servants in attendance?"

"I fear that you would charge me more than I could afford, my lady." Kuno confessed, stopping Nabiki's ministrations.

"It costs nothing but honesty, my lord," Nabiki answered seriously, but she returned the towel to him.

Kuno sighed wearily. "I thought you had no more complaints with regard to my sister, my lady. The last time I saw her, she was a changed woman."

It was Nabiki's turn to frown. It was hard to explain a situation that she herself didn't understand. And Kuno did not have a history of believing impossibilities, even if they were truth. "Let us just say, she tired of that particular lifestyle," Nabiki evaded dryly.

"You misunderstand my relationship with my sister," Kuno said slowly as he watched Nabiki wearily. "I threatened her, yes, but I cannot act on it. I am not her father, and even if father were to give an order, I doubt even he could control her."

Nabiki had thought as much. If the Kuno head had thought that Kodachi was expendable, she would have been put to death a long time ago. But she had hoped that Kuno would at least provide the least messy solution. Now the only recourse left to her was the most drastic.

No one would willingly kill the daughter of a liege lord, especially if she was rumored to be touched by a Kami. Unthinkingly she said under her breath, "Sometimes I wonder at the logic of calling insane people 'touched by the Kami'."

"Why do you think father sent her to be baptized as a Christian?" Kuno asked testily. "It had been an exorcism of sorts. Being touched by the Kami changes you so completely."

'That didn't help, unless the whole business with Akane could be termed exorcism. That move had failed rather dramatically,' Nabiki thought.

"Do you want me to talk to her again?" Kuno offered.

The talk would only accomplish setting Kodachi on her guard, warning her that she had reached the end of the Saotomes' patience, so Nabiki declined, "I wouldn't want to trouble you."

"If you are thinking of appealing to my father to slay her, do not do it," Kuno warned fiercely, grasping her shoulders for emphasis.

Nabiki looked at the hands on her shoulder with a frown. "I never mentioned anything about killing your sister - you were the one who brought it up. I was simply asking about the circumstances of your threat." Kodachi is the Kuno liege's political tool. She bridges the Saotome-Kuno relationship together. No one knew this more than Nabiki. She knew that the Kuno head would not have her executed even if Kuno pleaded on their behalf.

"Then why did you come here, Nabiki?"

'Because I want her dead!' she wanted to scream. 'Because I can't mention any plot to kill her on the fear of warning her of what I'm thinking.' She settled for: "Because she listened to you once."

"Kodachi doesn't listen to anyone but herself, Nabiki," Kuno explained. "She was in Rose Brier because my warning paved the way for another grand scheme. I am her brother, and perchance she did listen to the words, and perhaps she was frightened of what I would do, but I think she listened to the message but only understood the threat. And because I cannot follow up on the threat the first time I cannot force her hand a second time."

"Then I guess we must part, Lord Kuno," Nabiki said. "Thank you for your time. I will show myself out."

* * *

Ifuku ducked under the door and tried to find something to keep them warm through the night. The abandoned cottage that the Saotome samurai prepared for them was right on the trail of the small map they gave. According to Ranma, the lodgings were not quite as abandoned as it looked and were safe houses for Saotome samurai who were traveling along the road.

It was especially useful when they were being tracked down by enemies. The safe houses weren't used in the legendary ten year training trips the Saotomes usually undertook in their youth since it would ruin the purpose of the training. After all, hunting and building a fire were best learned when you were away from the comforts of modern conveniences. Regardless, Ranma assured Sohin that the houses would be secure for the two women that accompanied him and would provide a cover and a rendezvous point for them, especially if they needed help.

Ifuku succeeded in finding some blankets and there was a small hibachi that Sohin lit up. A pot for water was hidden along the sides and the well was out back. Ranma informed them that drinking water was usually provided by means of a stream or a well. He laughed and said that the Jusenkyou curse forced Happosai to install most of the wells in the area so that the disguise of the curse could be fully utilized, especially in heavily armed territories.

Sohin stared at the map that had been given to him and memorizing the path they have to take. He feared that he might lose the paper, or worse, the paper would end up in enemy hands.

Ifuku placed a hand on Akane's shoulder as she broke a piece of bread for the woman to eat. "Dinner, Lady Akane." There was silence in their camp after that, with no one knowing what to say or what to do with each other. Finally Ifuku, the self-imposed mediator of the group, tried to start a conversation involving both of them. "You would love Tendo territory, Akane, at least, my brother always did. Sanuki is small compared to the Tokaido, but it's comparable to the size of Sagami. You could see the sea from the main donjon, but we're probably the best sea-farers in all of Japan."

"If Chisei actually permits going out to sea. That woman is scared of change," Sohin muttered as he folded the map and hid it up his sleeve once again. "Are you homesick, Ifuku?"

"For Sanuki or for Rose Brier?" Ifuku shrugged when Sohin didn't answer her. She pulled down the bun in her hair and untangled the strands. "I miss Sanuki because it has always been something stolen from me before I understood it was mine. Ask me something of Sanuki and I will tell you what it was."

There was silence and because he did not challenge her, Ifuku continued, "We produced cotton, igusa and indigo. The igusa was made into tatami every day that you sometimes grow sick of it. In the foothills of Shikoku mountains, paper mulberry was cultivated. Every door in mountain towns displayed brand new shoji every month, and their little shops sold it by the roll. The best was always kept for father's special paper, for his missives. You loved camping in Ikeda near the Iya river."

"Why are you doing this Ifuku?" Sohin asked softly. They had not talked about their past lives since the day they were supposedly married. After that, it was all a pretense, to survive their hunters.

"We all loved our lives in Sanuki, but we parted with it because we had to. When I was seven we fled the island of Shikoku. At eight we found Kamakura. At nine, I was already training to serve." She paused as she glanced up from the embers to look at her brother's face. "We have lived for sixteen years as who we are. We have lived as servants, but after three years of running we found a temporary piece in Kamakura. It might not have been real, but for a while, it felt like home. I do not want Lady Akane to experience what we went through. We can not uproot her from all that she has known just to throw her out again when we fail."

"Lady Akane has no choice in the matter," Sohin mumbled as he sat down across Akane and stared at her. At his close scrutiny Akane became uncomfortable. A small laugh escaped Sohin. "You are very much like our half-sister, Akane."

The discomfort didn't leave her with those words. She did not like to be compared to someone she'd never met, especially since they were comparing her to someone who was dead. In fact, she didn't like to be compared to anyone, period. "That's the first time I've heard you talk to me civilly."

Sohin turned to Ifuku. "Is she always this..." He paused searching for an adequate word to use.

"Touchy? Because I assure you, it's you," Akane muttered sounding like the fifth grader she was teaching Anything Goes to. "I could get along well with most people my age."

"I was looking for a stronger word," Sohin answered ruefully. "We've gotten off the wrong foot. You're my sister now, and no matter what, you're under my protection."

"Men and their pride," Akane commented rolling her eyes as she smoothened her bedding while eating half of the loaf Ifuku had given her. "I get away from Ranma and now I have you. What is it with you guys that can't get I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself."

"And maybe the reason why you were sent away was your caustic tongue, my lady." Sohin smiled when he saw her grimace. "I hit a sore spot. Maybe I should have just left you and Ifuku to talk."

Ifuku smiled at the two of them. At least they were talking, which was much better than the long silence earlier that day. "And what would I tell her? Of the day you came and stole the apples I picked for my ailing mother?"

"I was starving," Sohin defended himself as he stood up. He winked at Akane. "Don't **ever** steal apples from Shori, she throws them back at you."

Akane looked at Ifuku then at Sohin. "Wait a minute. I thought you said you're siblings."

"Through father only," Ifuku informed her, amusement glinting in her eyes when she watched Akane open and close her mouth. "Sohin, Akane and I were each borne out of his three favorite concubines. Father did like his harems. That's why we don't really look alike. You should know that if you're taking our sister's place."

"Father never did get a child from his legal wife," Sohin mused, as he stoked the fire. "It was what bothered Chisei the most. Chisei was the youngest out of all the women father bedded and not once had she given him a child. She had always been power-hungry, and a legal heir would have strengthened her power."

"She blamed father for it." Ifuku's hand covered her smile as she looked at Sohin, remembering the old days. "I don't really remember that much since we were so young, but Sohin remembers most of what happened back home. When father died, Chisei projected her anger on us."

Akane gathered her knees and hugged them as she listened to Sohin and Ifuku relate their childhood experiences. More than the fact that they were now the only family she knew, they were also her roots. 'Imagine what father would say if he knew about all of these conflicts about the Tendo land.' She thought as she tried to massage the feeling back to her cold knees. At least they were trying some semblance of bonding.

"What about you, Akane? What was your life before all of this?" Ifuku waved a hand vaguely, unsure how to label the situation that they found themselves in. "Your family."

"I was the third in the family. We were all girls." Akane frowned at the memories, although she had a happy childhood, it was also tinged with sadness. "Mother died when I was so young, I barely remember her. It's probably why we each took a part of what she left. My oldest sister ran the house. The middle-child ran the finances. She died when I was seventeen, a hold-up at her University."

"And you? What did you do?" Ifuku prodded, for though Akane knew bits and pieces of their past, neither Sohin nor Ifuku knew much about the girl who took the place of their youngest sister.

"I was the heir to the dojo father ran. The Tendo Anything Goes School of Martial Arts," Akane said the name proudly for being heir meant a lot to her. Her smile deflated a little with the mention of the name, because it also reminded her of Ranma. "My father engaged me to Shinnosuke, because he was one of the better martial artists father knew. I got out of that one quickly. I was lucky if he could remember my name. I never even knew there **was** a Saotome branch. We've never crossed paths."

"The Tendos keep a low profile around these parts, but I do know we've never claimed such a name," Sohin informed her. He looked at Ifuku before he continued, "Yet."

"Yet," Akane echoed as she looked at the red hot coals of the hibachi, as if willing it to warm her. "I went to college, taught in the dojo, married a wanderer, an old friend really, and then died. That's pretty much my life in a nutshell, far less interesting than your own."

"I'd trade anything for such a life," Ifuku wished as she settled down amongst the blankets. "Your father must have been terribly sad. People always think that their children would outlive them, but to have a wife and two children die before him... I couldn't imagine the grief he must feel."

"He's a wreck most of the time," Akane confirmed, and her thoughts wandered to the family she left behind. "At least he still has one daughter. She's an amazing sister."

Sohin blew out the lantern and laid his sword in the circle of his arms for easy reach. "You both better sleep. We still have a long way to go before we could cross over to Tendo lands."

There was a rustle and two yawns, while the two women settled down in their blankets. Sohin looked at the two of them. His half-sisters. He frowned at the thoughts that entered his head, 'Do we really have a chance of taking back Sanuki?'

"Sohin, will you not sleep as well?" Ifuku murmured through the blankets, careful not to wake Akane, who had fallen asleep the instant she touched her head to the makeshift futon.

"A little later," Sohin spoke softly. "I don't know if all the Tendo samurai were captured last ganjitsu. Someone may be hunting us tonight. I was sincere in my wish to protect both of you."

There was a long pause, and Sohin thought that Ifuku already took his word and slept, when she asked again, "Where did you get that sword, Sohin? Father's sword -- your sword -- was left behind."

Sohin looked at the sword that was given to him in Yokohama and winced. He did not tell Ifuku everything that happened because he knew she would try to pry. He had not held a sword that he could rightly call his own since the night he fled the castle. "It was a gift."

Ifuku was not deemed old enough, nor important enough to own a sword back then, so hers was forged in the mainland, when they were running away from their executioners. "It's a nice gift, Sohin."

"It's sharp." Sohin shook his head. He did not want to remember where the sword had come from. He accepted it because the samurai insisted and because he needed it, but he also accepted because it was one of the few things he could keep from those days in Yokohama.

"Lady Nabiki, what plan do you have of her, Sohin?" Ifuku asked as she placed her hand on his. Confused at the motives of her older brother, and sensing that he did not understand what he was doing either. The sudden shift of the topic caught him off guard, and now that Akane was not listening in, she asked again, "Why did you give her your comb?"

"Don't you remember why, Ifuku?" Sohin asked, his hand immediately seeking the comb that he had kept in his pocket as a keepsake. He clenched his fist around the comb that she had returned to him. He pulled it out of his hiding place, as if to assure him that what he had touched existed and not a figment of imagination. "I told you I would give it to someone ..."

"Someone who could match your wits," Ifuku finished as she stared at the comb. Sohin had been an exceptionally bright pupil when they were children. Girls his age never talked to him due to their awe of his status as heir and his intelligence. When he grew older it was because of the women's inability to connect to his way of thinking. That and he was mostly a wanderer, with nothing to offer for marriage and a past that he did not want to reveal. "They're very poor standards for marriage, Sohin."

"That's why it needs to be forgotten, Ifuku." Sohin sighed staring at the comb he worked day and night to finish before their supposed wedding. He had given Ifuku an identical one so that she has something to show if anyone asked about their marriage. "It was a dream when I was but a mere peasant in her eyes, and now that dream comes to an end. If I am to be Tendo liege once more, I must accept that I am already engaged."

"To a woman whom you haven't seen since you were ten," Ifuku reminded him. People did not marry out of love for less than stature. Nobility or not, it was the way of life. Marriage was pre-ordained. Sohin understood what Ifuku was implying even if he didn't care for what she was offering. There were dreams you just had to let go off. "She might well be married by now."

Sohin's grip on the comb tightened, not wanting to address the issue that Ifuku was forcing. "Ifuku, you really should sleep."

He was answered by silence. Sohin sighed as he rested his back on the walls, with the sword easy in his grasp. 'Hopefully, no one would bother us tonight.'

* * *

Her sword was one of the few possessions Nabiki treasured. She enjoyed money when she earned it and skill when she learned it, and her sword was the embodiment of both.

It was a family heirloom, handed down from generation to generation of twins. The twin dragon swords had never been separated, and never been bestowed outside the Saotome Clan.

A few generations old sword was a rare thing, to be handed down. When she learned all that she could, enough for her to wield it, Nodoka gave it to her in the ceremony that would mark their leave for China.

She almost lost it when Kodachi stole it to kill her brother-in-law, but she took it back from the Ikkaseis. She had not used the sword in ages, not since it was tarnished by her brother-in-law's murder. Stolen from the Ikkaseis domain, it was hidden from sight except for a few ceremonial appearances.

She had not drawn it since that dispute with her husband. She drew it now, testing its balance, the feel of the steel light against her hands, the grip fitting perfectly on her palm, as if she never let it go. Testing its sharpness against a leaf she picked for that purpose, Nabiki smiled when it was nicely split into two. Although her barehanded combat was good, the feel of the wrought steel had been missed.

From stories, she knew that the swords were made for twin ancestors that had saved one of the donjons by fighting valiantly. Happosai was there when their ancestors were awarded. It was one of his favored stories to tell when the twins were in full ceremonial garb.

Opening her cabinet, she took out the special tools required for oiling it. She didn't sharpen her sword for fear she might destroy it, but she did know how to care for it.

Cleaning the sword was almost mindless for her. Genma was particular that both she and Ranma knew how to care for their priceless heirlooms. When she finally removed the blade from its hilt and other attachments, she took the nuguigami, high quality paper that's thoroughly wrinkled, to wipe against the blade's surface. She took care in placing no pressure against the point of the blade.

She then began powdering the blade with the uchiko, a finely ground whetstone, from the base towards the tip. The powder was released through the Yoshino-gami and then passed through the silk evenly, so she let her mind wander to the events of the day, her movement automatic. She reached for her sword for comfort, mostly because it was one of the steady things in her life, and because it was a connection to the family that she barely knew.

'Ranma told me to end this quickly, didn't he?' she asked herself, although what she was about to do was not exactly what Ranma had in mind. Ranma would be livid when he found out **exactly** what her solution to his problem was. 'This hasn't exactly been quick.'

The idea was close to suicide, but it was practical, and she was a practical person. 'Why haven't I thought of doing it before anyway?' Nabiki asked herself as she finished dusting the blade with powder and wiped it away with another piece of the nuguigami.

She checked the sword for the presence of damage, sure that the blade must have some nicks from her fights with it, although she found none. Without putting back the hilt she replaced the blade in the scabbard. Taking the Abura-nuguishi, she folded it into a small triangle and soaked it with abura, the rust preventive choji or clover oil.

'Ranma doesn't approve of half of my plans anyway,' Nabiki mused as she took the abura-naguishi into her left hand, while drawing the sword from the saya so that the sword would be oiled evenly. While she repeated the oiling to make sure that the oil was spread thin and evenly on the blade, she sighed. 'I'd best do it before he suspects what I'm planning.'

Finally satisfied with the oiling she placed the blade back into the hilt, collar, tang and swordguards. She swung the blade several times to test the tightness of the fit of the blade against its accessories and was satisfied with the results. 'At least the dragon doesn't need sharpening yet.' Nabiki mused as she replaced the sword into the scabbard and tied the scabbard to her belt.

She remembered an old passage in the Tao Te Ching Cologne had forced them to read before they even attempted to sharpen their swords in her presence 'Sharpen a sword-edge to its very sharpest, And the edge will not last long . . . Withdraw as soon as your work is done. Such is Heaven's Way.' She chuckled, it would be like Cologne to reprimand them with that book.

She scrutinized herself in the polished metal that served as her mirror and wrinkled her nose in distaste at the purple Chinese top she used that day. Rooting around the cabinet she found the ceremonial black garb she used in the inauguration and quickly donned it.

'Ranma would wonder at my formality,' Nabiki thought, but quickly dismissed it as she checked her sword once again. She pulled her hair up into a high pony-tail and then braided it. 'I'd best be **formal** about this.'

She looked around the room and took another sword with her, then rummaging through her things, took out the black silk cloths sewn in with Sei's name as well as the Ikkasei symbol. She wrapped both in a large furoshiki before stepping out into the corridor.

As she moved along the hallways, she stopped near the doorway to Sei's room. She slid it open soundlessly then knelt beside her son. A wispy lock of brown hair was curled over his forehead, so she tucked it away from his face.

A light sleeper by nature, Sei woke up groggily, rubbing the sleepiness away from his eyes. "Mom --" formality was something Sei used when he was fully awake. "Did you want something?"

She touched her hand to his shoulder to gently push him back to his futon, urging him to sleep. "Nothing, Sei, I just wanted to see you."

He gave her a sleepy smile. "Mom, would you mind terribly if I go away for some months to train? The ten year training trip is coming up and I want to do good in the assessment. I promise I'd be home as soon as I'm able."

She ran her hand through his hair. Maybe it was for the best if he wasn't around for the next few months. No one should be forced to see their own mother's execution. It's what brought him here in the first place. "I will miss you terribly."

"When I arrive, let's play in the garden again," he murmured sleepily, his voice softening and his vowels elongating. "I miss that game."

She smiled fondly. They had less and less time to each other when his lessons started to increase. Learning all forms of the art that was available inside the Saotome household was a demanding task that took most of the day. They had each other's company during dinner but it wasn't the same as the quality time they had spent with each other before. "Very well."

He fell asleep in mid-reply.

She had brought a bundle with her, the black cloths that Sei would use in the inauguration if he was ever tested for further training. It had been finished just before he entered the qualification exam for Saotome samurai. She laid it beside his bed with her first sword. Swords had always been bestowed by the father, and cloths by the mother, but she had wanted to give him something to remember her by.

Tossing her pigtail over her shoulder, she decided to pick up another sword from the dojo... and then began looking for Kodachi.

-

Ranma looked at the house from the bay and frowned. Something was wrong. The house was too quiet, even for the evening. Not that he was complaining of the quiet, it was likely that Kodachi was still recovering from whatever poisoning it was that she had rendered upon herself. But there was something strange in the air.

The days of the New Year's celebration were almost at their end. Truthfully, after the Tendos left, the revelry seemed to have wound down to a sputter. Maybe the house was quiet because most samurai were already out in their own homes celebrating the New Year with their own families. Still, he could not shake off the feeling of wrongness at the stillness of the atmosphere.

'Ranma, you're being paranoid,' he reprimanded himself as he started for the house. No one would dare attack at New Year. Besides, there were still enough samurai to guard Rose Brier should the need arise. There were samurai allotted for the house at these particular moments.

So why was the prickly feeling at the back of his neck not going away no matter how hard he tried to reassure himself? He moved faster, almost breaking into a run as he moved towards the house. He spotted Nabiki in her black garb and entering the house through the windows in the upper floor.

"What the hell?" Ranma muttered as he followed his sister. Nabiki would not wear the family silks unless something extremely formal was about to happen. "Nabiki!"

If Nabiki heard his call she didn't look or stop to answer him, and she was gone in a second through the paper windows of the second floor. "Damn!" Ranma cursed increasing his pace, the feeling of wrongness intensifying.

He moved up the second floor window in one move, and found that Nabiki had barred it. "Damn it Nabiki, what're you up to?"

He wasn't surprised when Nabiki answered him from the other side of the walls. "Best leave this business to me, Ranma. I was hoping you would not see me until everything was over."

"Until **what** is over?" Ranma demanded as he pounded against the shoji, although whatever Nabiki had placed to bar it, held in place. Ranma winced, his place against the second story window was precarious. Although most of the inner dividers of the house were paper thin, the outside was made of hinoki wood. Something expensive enough that he didn't want to break, and tough enough to cost him too much time if he did try to break in. "Damn it Nabiki, this isn't funny."

Ranma could feel Nabiki lean against the wall heavily as she breathed in. "Do you hear me laughing, Ranma?" It was meant to be sarcastic, although the sarcasm was lost in the delivery. It was almost despairing sound.

"Nabiki, you're about to do something extremely foolish." Not that he actually knew what she was about to do, but he knew instinctively that it was something that she was going to regret. Hoping that his bluff would work, and she would supply the blanks, he continued, "Don't."

"I said I would handle this as quickly as possible, Ranma. I promised." There was steel in her voice again, the vulnerability that he had heard just seconds ago was gone, replaced by the familiar stubborn resolve. "I will not back down from it."

Racking his brains for the promise that she made, he widened his eyes at the sudden realization. "What the hell are you going to do about Kodachi, Nabiki?" Understanding hit him as he re-evaluated the situation. His hand pounding against the wooden wall intensified. "Don't tell me you're going to kill her! We talked about this before. Kodachi's life isn't worth yours in return."

"No, but yours is worth mine," Nabiki whispered, kissing her finger tips she laid it against the wall separating them. "Goodbye Ranma."

"Nabiki!" Ranma shouted, pulling back against the wooden board for more strength and finally splintering the wall with brute strength and perseverance. It took him a while to note that Nabiki propped an entire cabinet against the shoji so he wouldn't enter and another to realize that she was long gone from the room. "Damn."

He moved out of the room. He may not know where Nabiki was right now, but at least he knew who her target was. "Where the hell is Kodachi anyway?"

-

Nabiki backtracked from Rose Brier into the dead night. Ranma would search the house for at least half a stick before he realized that neither Kodachi nor Nabiki was there. She entered the house as a wild guess that Ranma would find her at the last minute. She was not wrong. The way Ranma could second-guess her was sometimes eerily accurate; this extra precaution paid off.

"So much for the prophecy of dying together, brother," Nabiki whispered as she hefted the extra sword she had brought along. She moved towards the cliffs of Rose Brier staring at the unnaturally carved walls at the base of the house. The cliff bottom was where the foundation of the house was built. She examined the sloping sides, tapped at it gently.

The secret laboratory Kodachi kept from the rest of the world was no more secret than the Jusenkyou curse was. Although Ranma had no idea of its existence, Nabiki knew Kodachi must have some place to mix her poisons, potions and 'love spells'.

It took her some years to find out where Kodachi hid it, and more years to find out how to enter it. She didn't tell Ranma for the simple reason that she never remembered to do so. With all of the 'activities' going about, the little fact of Kodachi's lab was an annoyance that was low among her priorities. Until now.

Working out the secret niche that would open the secret door to the chamber, Nabiki smiled at Kodachi's startled face. "Now, now Kodachi, won't you invite your sister-in-law inside?"

The wildness in Kodachi's eye was apparent even before Nabiki threw her one of the spare katana she managed to take from the dojo. "I challenge you Kuno-noh-Kodachi, the Black Rose, the Rising Star of Tohoku, the Undefeated Star of -ahem- Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics."

Kodachi's eyes narrowed looking at the sword that was tossed at her. "You're growing bolder, Nabiki Saotome. You dare challenge me in my own domain?"

"I dare to challenge you in **my** land," Nabiki answered as she unsheathed the dragon, the newly oiled blade glinting in the torchlight. "You've never belonged here, Kodachi, and I mean to keep you away permanently."

Kodachi laughed as she eyed Nabiki. "You would, even if it would cost your head, Saotome. You would. I do not understand this loyalty you hold for Ranma. The reasons why you protect him so fiercely, even to the point of dying for him." Kodachi kicked the sword Nabiki had given her before moving towards the racks and taking one of her own swords. "You do know that whether I lose or win, you will always end up losing."

"If I lose, Kodachi, Ranma would have no qualms about killing you. My death is not your victory nor is it my loss," Nabiki answered moving the light blade against her hand, keeping Kodachi in sight.

Kodachi laughed as she readied the sword against her hand, pulling it slowly from the scabbard and moving it in a slow arc. "I always regarded you as intelligent, Nabiki. I did not think you foolish enough to die needlessly."

"You cannot understand something that you cannot feel, Kodachi," Nabiki answered solemnly. "And both loyalty and love are foreign words in your heart. Do you accept my challenge or not?"

"In a hurry to die, Nabiki?" Kodachi asked, holding sword above her head, charging Nabiki at an angle.

Nabiki dodged the sword strike and eyes Kodachi wearily. It was rule of combat to state her name and proper rank before Kodachi attacked as a sign of acceptance of challenge. If Kodachi barely followed rules, why did she expect the woman to follow this one?

Keeping her eyes on Kodachi, she backed away from the woman moving towards the open outside space than towards the inner sanctums of Kodachi's lab. Kodachi didn't mind the move from the cramped space to the larger one of the beach.

Nabiki preferred the beach over the forest floor, but she planned to gradually move the fight towards Serpent's Bluff. The beach was farther from the house than the forest, so Ranma was less likely to look out of the window and see the beach in the dark than see them amongst the trees. The waves would also drown out the noises of the clattering swords.

The trees would provide leverage against Kodachi. After all, aerial combat was the specialty of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial arts. However, Kodachi was just as agile in aerial combat as she was, and was devastatingly cunning. Kodachi would find **any** way to cheat in a fight.

She barely managed to dodge the swing of Kodachi's sword, although she had ducked at the last second. Kodachi's laugh followed, and Nabiki resisted the urge to wince. If Kodachi's laughter carried over the waves, Ranma would find them sooner, and she wouldn't be able to end this.

Kodachi licked Nabiki's blood off her sword and smiled. "What's the matter Nabiki? Pay more attention."

Nabiki ignored the taunt, knowing that the taunts were half of Kodachi's fighting style. She jumped in the air for a strike. It was blocked neatly. Although she did not have Ranma's flair in combat, she was still good. She could second guess just as quickly as he could.

Nabiki used her left hand to hold Kodachi's neck, keeping her right hand pressing down her sword against Kodachi's own. She traced the old scar against Kodachi's throat. "Do you recall when you received this, Kodachi?" She asked a similar question of Akane, but the girl, for obvious reasons, didn't understand what she was asking.

Kodachi pulled her sword and slapped Nabiki's hand away, already on the defense. "I recall that it was your weakness that didn't make the wound larger than a scratch."

Nabiki charged again, aiming for Kodachi's midsection. "You remember. Your temporary double completely forgot that it was my handiwork. I'm here to rectify that mistake."

-

Ranma stopped at Kodachi's room, perplexed, Nabiki wasn't **anywhere** in the house. The samurai he asked either did not know, or were sworn to secrecy. The former was probably true. Nabiki could disappear without a trace if she wanted to.

Frowning, he moved up to his room to retrieve his sword. He would need it to stop Nabiki from killing Kodachi. Sword against sword would be a better way to disarm than sword against bare hand. He shifted the weight of the dragon against his palm.

Their two swords were symmetrically made, each a compliment of the other. The one he held was as dark as night, and Nabiki's own as light as day. The yin and the yang. He gripped his sword tightly. The dragons were named such because of legend that they were both carved form the teeth of the dragon of light and dark.

It was an apt sword for the twins whose moves revolved around the sentient beings of old. "Where would Nabiki go? Damn it," he asked out in the hallways. Rose Brier was made for fighting, was specially structured so that when enemies did breach it, there was room enough to fight in the corridors, set to the defender's advantage. Nabiki would not need to lead Kodachi out of the house. "Unless she thought I would stay here."

"Sometimes, I wish she didn't manage to read me too easily," Ranma muttered as he left the house scanning the area for combatants. There were no shouts of fighting in the immediate vicinity, and Ranma was sure that Nabiki went the extra mile so that she would not be found. It was proven by the fact that he had just spent an entire hour searching fruitlessly.

Moving up one of the trees he cursed the new moon. There wasn't much to see in the radius that the dark had allowed him to view. He didn't bother to jump down from the tree he picked and instead went tree hopping to find his quarry.

"Damn it, Nabiki, why do you have to be so goddamned stubborn?"

-

"Damn it, Kodachi, why do you have to be so goddamned stubborn?" Nabiki asked as she whirled her blade around to balance the hit Kodachi had inflicted upon her sword. "You really should just die peacefully and save me the trouble."

The sudden change in mood was uncharacteristic of her, but would barely throw Kodachi off her track. Kodachi laughed again. "You of all people should know that I don't die easily, Nabiki Saotome."

"Yeah, as I recall, roaches need hot water," Nabiki answered quoting Kodachi's fight against Ranma way back when Kodachi was still as dense as hell regarding the Jusenkyou curses. "Too bad there are no pandas sitting in the outskirts to get hot water from."

The flip of the sword against her was expected and Nabiki laughed it off, knowing that to scoff it would have more impact on Kodachi than to remain silent. "How would you want to die, Kodachi?"

"I don't have to make that choice, Nabiki. You do." Kodachi smiled as she aimed for Nabiki's throat.

Nabiki dodged that one and leapt up to the branch of a tree for leverage and to give herself time to think as Kodachi whirled around wondering where her adversary went. Nabiki cursed, knowing full well that Kodachi was going to rebound and going to rebound quickly.

When Nabiki noticed Kodachi taking out her belt, Nabiki realized that Kodachi just added another weapon to the game. What Nabiki mistook for a thick belt was in fact her gymnastics ribbon, which she quite commonly used as a whip.

In a second Kodachi cracked the whip on the branch Nabiki was stepping on, unbalancing Nabiki. Jumping down from the branch instinctively, Nabiki landed roughly before jumping back up to face Kodachi head on.

She twirled the ribbon and smiled ferally while Nabiki frowned. "I never quite associated you with a cat. Homicidal maniac, yes, but never actually feral."

"How quaint," Kodachi murmured circling Nabiki slowly while Nabiki maintained the small smirk she had on her face. "You have time to joke around at a time like this."

Kodachi snapped the ribbon against Nabiki's head. Nabiki had moved away automatically, crouching low to keep her balance and make it harder for the ribbon to snap at her. "What part was the joke? I believe the part about the homicidal maniac one hundred percent."

Giving a loud shriek, Kodachi lashed out her sword, and while Nabiki evaded towards her right, Kodachi used her ribbon to wrap itself neatly around Nabiki's ankle to topple her over.

Nabiki grimaced at her position sprawled over the sand staring up at Kodachi's half eager face. "So what part of that look disproves the fact that you're a homicidal maniac, Kodachi?"

Taking advantage of the fact that Nabiki was down, Kodachi drew her sword at Nabiki's throat. "Who is laughing, Nabiki?"

Using the wristbands Nabiki blocked the sword to the side while pulling on Kodachi's ribbon by moving the leg that was captured towards the side, bringing Kodachi on her knees.

"I'm afraid, it's still me," Nabiki answered cutting the ribbon neatly with the back swing of her sword.

Nabiki cut the ribbon while simultaneously using her shoulders and elbows as leverage to swing up and land neatly on the balls of her feet. She was in a ready stance in seconds, sword drawn towards the side of her head one foot in front for balance, knees bent and facing her opponent.

Kodachi spat out, "So you **do** know how to fight."

"Condescending," Nabiki noted, swinging her sword on Kodachi's neck and missing by inches when Kodachi dropped low. "Kami-sama, I hate fighting you."

"That's because you've never won," Kodachi reminded her, moving away from Nabiki's sword to swing herself upright and face Nabiki again. Kodachi was on the offence, and Nabiki noticed one thing about Kodachi's sword. It had no hand guard. It signified that she was arrogant enough to know that she wasn't going to be on the defensive position.

Nabiki decided that through the ribbon Kodachi had the advantage of aim, however it was significantly damaged by the cut. Kodachi liked space between herself and her opponents because her weapons employed distance, her clubs and her ribbon ensured that. She only came close enough for the kill. Since she didn't have her clubs, Nabiki decided that the best way to kill her would be to get close enough for her weapons to be useless.

Having been on the defensive because she had been assessing the situation, Nabiki moved aggressively now, making sure that her sword slid through the full length of Kodachi's own so that she could take advantage of the lack of the hand guard. Putting her observations to use, Kodachi let go of her sword when Nabiki hit her hand.

Kodachi hissed at the sight of the blood, ignoring her now useless hand. "You would not kill me this easily, Saotome."

"Kami," Nabiki muttered slowly drawing her words out. "Exactly what part in this has been easy?"

She slashed at Kodachi's neck, which Kodachi evaded, and used her hilt as a follow up blow to Kodachi's chest. That temporarily paralyzed Kodachi for Nabiki to reverse the sword and swipe at Kodachi's neck again. Thumbing out her other sword, Nabiki drew that out to thrust against Kodachi's stomach. Not satisfied, Nabiki drove her katana into Kodachi's heart as well. "Sayonara, Kodachi. This time, stay dead."

-

"Nabiki!" He rushed over to her, took in the situation, and closed his eyes resignedly. "Too late, eh?"

Nabiki collapsed to her knees, emotionally tired from the whole ordeal. The gashes she had sustained from the fight were bleeding. "It's done," Nabiki whispered.

Ranma knelt down to face her, tilting her head so that she would look at him. "Do you understand what you just did?"

Jerking from Ranma's probing fingers, Nabiki nodded. "I have been dead for a long time, Ranma. Does it matter if my body joins my soul now? I've killed Kodachi for you."

"You should not have killed her," Ranma said with sorrow as he looked at his sister. "She was mine to kill."

"You would have never done it," Nabiki countered defiantly as she stood up, regaining her energy once again. She pulled out her sword from Kodachi's body and wiped the blood away from the blade. Sheathing it, she offered the sword to Ranma. "When you marry her, have twins, train them to be the best and give this to them."

"You speak as if you'll die tonight," Ranma pointed out, refusing to take the blade from her hands. He knew that if he took it, he would acknowledge the end of her life. The sword was precious to a samurai, and to part with it could only mean death, or the end of being samurai. "I won't let you go."

Nabiki looked back at him sharply. "Yes you **will**. Because you have to take care of Sagami, because you have to take care of Hanae and Sei... and because you have to find Akane."

"You don't have to die Nabiki," Ranma argued, stepping closer to his sister, knowing that he was losing the fight because of her pride, because she would not accept anything less than death. "I can hide you."

"For how long?" Nabiki asked softly. She waved her hand helplessly. "I don't want to hide anymore, Ranma. That's all that I've been doing. I've been hiding from my husband and now I'm hiding from Kuno? Hasn't it been enough? Besides, Sasuke is here."

Ranma took a step back and saw Sasuke was indeed watching the exchange. Ranma took a defensive pose, but his own sword was not drawn against Sasuke's shuriken. "You will not take her, Sasuke."

Placing her hand against Ranma's which was hovering over his sword, Nabiki shook her head. "It is time to face the consequences. It is time for me to die in that prison I escaped from years ago."

"I wanted to kill her, Nabiki," Ranma whispered, his sword hand never relaxing and his eyes still fixed on Sasuke's own. "I was the one who should have killed her."

Nabiki rested her forehead against Ranma's back, and though he was posed for a fight, she felt Ranma's weariness as if it were her own.

"Were you going to?"

There was a long pause. The rules of the wedding. If Kodachi dies by Saotome sword, Saotome blood would be spilled, and the agreement clearly said it was to be Nabiki's. Ranma slowly shook his head, and Nabiki didn't have to see it to know that her brother would never have exchanged her life for his happiness.

Lifting her head she moved around to face him, ignoring Sasuke completely. "That's your flaw, Ranma. You care about me too much, that you would sacrifice anything for me."

"You care about me too much to sacrifice your own life for me." Ranma argued haggardly, not wanting to talk about it.

Nabiki cracked a smile although it barely reached her eyes. "Your arrogance surprises me, Ranma. I did it because she was getting on my nerves."

"You should have left me miserable, Nabiki. I was destined to be miserable." Ranma mentioned softly, not wanting to make her sacrifice as trivial as she was trying to make it sound.

Lifting her hand from his sword arm, she transferred it to his face as a brush of farewell and shook her head. "There you go again Ranma." At his blank stare she elaborated, "You're confusing bad management with destiny."

"This isn't a joke Nabiki."

"I know," she answered solemnly. Taking her sword once again she pushed it against his chest. "Take it Ranma. Promise me you'll have twins, so I know that the next person who carries my sword is from the blood that flows through me as well."

"I --"

"Take it, damn it," Nabiki said letting it go as soon as Ranma touched it. She swiveled around to look at Sasuke. "We have finished talking, Sasuke"

Sasuke nodded solemnly as he took her hands and bound them against her back. "Mistress Kodachi would be --"

"Ranma would take care of her body. She was his wife, she would get her burial," Nabiki decreed and looked at her brother. There was a nod. Nabiki smiled and nodded in acknowledgement to her brother. "Maybe in my next life I wouldn't know a thing about fighting and just milk the Kuno name dry, eh?"

Ranma could do nothing but nod as Sasuke escorted his sister to the quarters Tatewaki Kuno was currently occupying on his visit to Kamakura.

-

Ranma stood in front of Sei's door hesitantly. He had barely slept through the evening, worrying about Nabiki's condition as well as the preparations for Kodachi's burial.

Nabiki, it seemed, had managed to prepare the burial ceremony even before she set out on the fool's task of killing Kodachi. The only thing he had to do was assign samurai to send invitations.

Not that they invited a good deal of people. Kodachi was generally hated among the clan.

What Nabiki hadn't prepared him for, was facing her son. As he stood there in silence, the door finally opened with Sei motioning him in. "I've been waiting for you, father."

Sei called him father because he had virtually adopted the boy. Hanae once joked that Rose Brier was becoming an orphanage. Ranma stepped in the room with mild surprise and a little trepidation. Sei had always been a good child, eager to learn and with a very agile mind for strategy.

Sei looked up as his foster mother left. Sei motioned wordlessly for him to sit down. Easy formal gestures ingrained into one so young. Nabiki had instructed Ranma to groom him as liege, although not necessarily as his heir.

They stared at each other for a moment before Sei decided to push forward a large bundle of furoshiki. Ranma's eyes were riveted to the package. It contained Nabiki's first sword and Sei's future garments for inauguration. If Nabiki had time to say good-bye, she would have given him this last legacy. "Mother isn't fond of good-byes."

Ranma closed his eyes. He agreed, Nabiki hated good-byes. She wasn't made for good-byes. "I don't know what Nabiki --"

"I guess she wanted to die," Sei speculated.

Ranma stood up and gathered the boy in his arms. Sei was too young to think about death in this context. No one was old enough to think about their mother dying. "Sei-chan, she loves you very much."

Sei's grip on his neck tightened. "I know. I'm just not enough incentive for her to want to live. That's why, uncle, you have to free her. I will get her heart's desire, and you will free her."

"What are you talking about?" Ranma asked bewildered.

"I will go to the rendezvous point of the Tendos. I'm merely a few days behind them, and they will be stopping over to gather a few men, I'll be ahead of them. I'll negotiate free passage through the imperial way."

The imperial way, it was the land bordering the west of the Saotomes' own lands after crossing a short gulf. It was managed by the Ikkaseis, the closest of which had Sei's father as daimyo.

Ranma was shocked enough to stay silent for a few moments trying to digest what the boy was telling him. Sei had always been perceptive, and today, he showed that he knew more about Nabiki's affairs, than what Nabiki would like to admit. "Then what would I tell her?"

"Nothing. I told mother I wanted to go on a training trip before the assessment," Sei explained. "I was preparing to go to Ise anyway, regardless of mother's plan. This just makes it easy for me to go away."

"And when you don't come back because Ikkasei won't let you go?"

"I will come back for mother," Sei said firmly. "You forget, uncle, I am the Ikkasei heir. I hold more power over them than they have over me. They will yield."

"You were lost years ago. Your father could have another heir."

"I was borne of a legal marriage. He has not married yet because there have been no offers from other daimyos because of my father's scandal with mother," Sei reassured his uncle with confidence. "Even if I am just heir, I know what I am to my father. He might not agree to some of my requests, but he will not deny me all of my demands. I know what I am doing, uncle. Please send me away with your blessing."

Ranma kissed Sei on the forehead. "My blessing to you, my lord. May you rescue the heirs." Sei had never been his to keep. He had known this day would come.

Sei grinned then kissed Ranma on the cheek as well. "My blessing to you, my lord. May you rescue my mother, your sister." Sei had always been aware of who he was. He wore his identities fluidly, from adopted son, to supplicating nephew to a potential liege.

And then Ranma set Sei down gently on the floor. Sei sketched a regal bow, before Ranma himself offered him the same courtesy. Ranma nodded to him and then Sei began his preparations to depart.

Ranma sighed as he added a samurai as well as horses for Sei to use in the mental tally of the things to do for the day. 'Omokage will do,' Ranma thought absently as he moved towards the samurai common rooms to dispatch Omokage with his new orders. 'Omokage has worked with the Tendos in the past and he will be discreet.'

The day was not getting better. 'How do you rescue someone who doesn't want to be saved?'

**

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**

**Disclaimer: **Ranma co. were borrowed from the brilliant mind of Rumiko Takahashi. The original story was based on a book, _When there is Hope_.

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**Author's Notes:**

**On the 11/16 revision (added scene): **Scene added due to **Gangsta Spanksta**'s review on how Nabiki wouldn't have killed Kodachi without going to Kuno first. I agree, thus the scene is written. Sometimes, I forget the flow of the story and therefore miss out on some important scenes. My brain takes logical leaps that way. So I'm happy to listen to similar comments and act on them, in case you notice something like that.

Why are the chapters faster? It's the word count. I've reduced word count from 25,000 to 14,000 it makes for easier reading, pre-reading and faster results. Plus most of this particular chapter has been written out already.

My sister claims this is the best chapter I've written. I'm holding my breath. I promised a Kuno chapter, I ended up with a Sei/Nabiki/Ranma, Hanae/Sei,Sohin/Ifuku/Akane. In other words, it's a grand FAMILY chapter. I think it's a direct consequence of watching _Full Metal Alchemist_ three days straight. (My next future future future project, Roy Mustang haha. :)Not until I finish this extremely long fic though. January is turning to be the single LONGEST month in the fic. The possibility that I'm influenced by _Detective Conan_'s Shinichi Kudo (or rather Conan Edogawa) is probably another reason why it's about family.

The next chapter will be the Kuno chapter.

I was happy here, because I gave Ifuku and Sohin a past. They're not just new characters, they had lives before, and you understand how they lived before they became who they are now. I think Ifuku is growing spunkier by the chapter, I read back all the past chapters and see her as a mouse, when I read this she's actually talking back. Akane is such a bad influence.

Although Nabiki fans would probably kill me if she could hear Akane casting her as: The middle-child died at a hold up in the university. Middle child, no name. But we already have too many Nabikis in the story. Look at all the Akanes we have. It's confusing.

I had complete trouble with the fighting scenes **again** especially since Kodachi is left handed, and trying to imagine her fighting left handed was a bit rough.

As for the trust comments in the last chapter (about not expecting Akane to jump): It was kind of the point grins. In the anime as well as the manga, Akane exhibits complete trust to Ranma several times. The most that comes to mind would be the movie in Tohma's Island. "Why are you waiting for him?" "I believe in him." Or the Shinnosuke incident (manga as well as OAV) "Why are you doing this?" "He's my fiance."

_Research for this chapter._

**Sanuki** of course. A few years ago, I would have trouble finding all sorts of research. Now a great tool for research, other than the books I shamelessly photocopied from the library, would be WIKIPEDIA. Honestly, a better tool I cannot find.

Sanuki is actually modern day Kagawa. A map of old Japan could be found in my livejournal. Please refer to my author's page for the link and drop by if you're really interested. You'll understand the way the Tendos will be travelling if you look at the map, but it's not really necessary to look at it. You'll also understand what particular places the various clans are holding. I honestly think that the land boundaries look more European than Medieval Japan, but I can't fit enough of research and current knowledge to write medieval Japan as passable.

I also researched **how to clean a sword**. Honestly, it boggles the mind. And I had the instruction manual complete with drawings.

Kikuko's** torture** has the same research material as the previous chapter.

**Kyudo **and bow techniques were tackled some chapters back.

iCe

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**website: **ice _dot _esmartdesign _dot _com  
**email**: siuane _at_ gmail _dot_ com  
**livejournal**: ice _underscore_ of _underscore _dreams 


	19. Part 18: February

**Revision Notes:**  
11/03/06 :: Release Date  
11/06/06 :: Sentence Flow and the Funeral scene

* * *

**Special Thanks to:**  
Tin  
Ellen Kuhfeld  
Jourdan Bickham

* * *

There's no use in weeping,  
Though we are condemned to part:  
There's such a thing as keeping  
A remembrance in one's heart.  
_Parting  
_**Charlotte Bronte**

* * *

**Rendezvous with Fate v.3**  
by iCe  
Chapter 18

_...I can't describe what I felt then. Because it was confusing, and it was real, and it was... too short..._

* * *

They had already buried Kodachi's remains, but the ceremony was moved later to give travel-time for people who wished to bid her farewell, as well as seek a Christian priest to bless her grave. Even with the month-long wait, there weren't many people. Kodachi had few admirers and even fewer friends. 

Though there was time, Kodachi's father had not deemed it worthy to attend. Because Tatewaki was already in Kamakura, the head had pronounced it more efficient for Tatewaki to handle the turnover.

Ranma watched people mourning over the grave of his wife. He gave Kodachi a good burial. He had given her a Christian wake and burial, even after the express belief of some of the people that she should be cremated. An entire argument had sprouted on Christian burials and Buddhist cremations and he had finally set his foot down on whatever religion Kodachi owned to. However, he still had his own share of problems. He did not want to bury his sister so soon after burying his wife.

His gaze rested on his brother-in-law. Even though Ranma was up a tree and watching from quite a distance, he could see that Kuno really did mourn for his sister. Ranma sighed as he dropped down to talk.

Closing his eyes, he firmed his resolve and stepped up to Tatewaki Kuno. "Could I speak with you?" Ranma didn't feel the courageous front that he was using for Kuno's benefit. "About my sister."

Kuno looked up from the tombstone. "And your wife?" Kuno took in that Ranma was dressed in white Chinese silk shirt, the color of mourning. Even if Ranma did not mourn Kodachi's loss, Ranma felt that Kuno was relieved that Ranma at least respected the solemnity of the occasion.

"Your sister," Ranma answered, not wanting to remember that he had been married for a good ten years to the dead woman. There was dread, because of Nabiki's crime, but there was a lighter burden as well, the assurance that he never had to face Kodachi again. "I'm sorry if this's a difficult time for you."

A smile escaped Kuno's haggard lips. "I think this has been the first time I have heard you utter the phrase, Saotome." He nodded as he turned towards Ranma.

Ranma looked at the incense sticks sticking out of their porcelain case over the carved obsidian that marked Kodachi's grave. They had picked a site away from the house but within the border of the property. Ranma was thankful that Kuno had not been there to suggest Serpent's Bluff as a gravesite. It would have haunted him to bury her there. "This wouldn't have happened if I'd known about it beforehand."

"None of these things ever happens if you know about them beforehand, Saotome." Kuno laughed bitterly. There were similarities between the siblings that Ranma could point out easily. One of them was the almost manic laugh, but this time, Kuno's didn't remind him of his late sister's.

"She was your sister, it must be..." Ranma trailed off. He didn't know how to describe Kodachi's loss to Kuno because he never knew what kind of relationship they had.

"She was your wife. But I guess her death isn't something you'd mourn for." He dismissed his guards and moved deeper into the forest. "Let us walk."

Ranma hesitated for a moment. He was not on the best terms with the Kunos. He never talked to either sibling without getting into a fight, and to either parent without getting thoroughly enraged. But the funeral seemed to have placed them in a temporary truce. Kuno seemed to have mellowed since the last time Ranma saw him.

They turned towards the trees that outlined the hillside leading to Rose Brier and Kuno winced. "Rose Brier -- this estate was my sister's dowry. I do not feel right taking it back from you."

"The agreement was binding. I lose the estate if Kodachi dies by Saotome hands," Ranma informed him. He would miss Rose Brier, and he would miss the people. Managing Kamakura for the Saotomes had always been more of a vacation than work. "She died by our blade."

"Was the agreement that took it away from you the first time binding as well?" There was surprise in Ranma's eyes, indicating that he didn't know Kuno knew how the land had shifted hands. "You lost it in a drunken bet between Genma and my father."

"If it was our foster father's, then it would not find its way to me," Ranma clarified, not wanting to enter the topic of land disputes. Nabiki handled those. He was the muscle, and she had always been the brain. "We were trained by him but we're not his heirs."

"Were you not? He has no children, and he spent more than sixteen years with you." Kuno shook his head as he surveyed the land. "You spent your childhood in this estate before you traveled around Japan and Genma subsequently lost it. You were his favorite students."

"He has a right to his lands, and to give them away as he wishes." Ranma shrugged nonchalantly, although Kuno knew that the land meant more to the twins than a house to live on and a border to protect. "Our main responsibility is Nerima, and we'll leave for the main city as soon everything here is settled."

"You treat me as an enemy. I am not. We are both on the losing end here, Saotome." Kuno shook his head as he assessed Ranma. "I lost my sister to bad maintenance and you're losing yours through bad judgment. I lost my love through delusions and you lost yours through enlightenment."

"I don't see --" Ranma started, when Kuno cut him off.

"I will help you gain your sister back," Kuno said in a low voice. Kuno had put off dealing a death sentence for Nabiki until after Kodachi's funeral rites. Ranma had been thankful, but a little bewildered. Now he understood why. "One death is enough. Your sister does not deserve to die for acting on justice."

"But the houses are in agreement, and Nabiki'd never come with me. She knew what her actions would bring when she killed your sister and--" Ranma shrugged, not wanting to talk to Kuno anymore. "Don't you want justice?"

"And do you not want justice for **your** sister?" Kuno threw back at him as he looked at his sister's urn. "My sister is dead. There is no changing that. There is no changing the fact that my sister was also very, very, very sick in her head. If her medication is death, then so be it. But you can still help yours."

Ranma opened his mouth to retort, but closed it again. "What would your father say about your actions?"

"He would not want to lose Rose Brier, not to the Saotomes again, but he would not mind his girl dead. He too thought her a pain." Kuno rubbed his fingers against the bridge of his nose. "He cannot condemn me for turning Nabiki-san loose. I am his **only** heir. I have lost a sister because of her stubbornness, do not lose yours because of hers. Take your sister from me."

Kuno covertly placed a parchment of paper in Ranma's hands. "She is inside one of the rooms in the inn. She is under heavy guard, but no one is going to be in the room with her at that time."

"Nabiki would't want me to come," Ranma warned him hesitantly, although he kept the parchment hidden in his palm. "Not like this."

"We are not talking about what Nabiki wants," Kuno pointed out, irritated that Ranma could not see it his way. "We are talking about what I can do for her. I could only provide for so much. You must come tonight or you will not be able to retrieve her at all."

Kuno looked at the trees where samurai were waiting. Important people never went unguarded. Especially since they were in Saotome territory, his own samurai would not let him out of their sight. "Saotome, do you understand what I am giving you?"

"I-– " Ranma, holding the piece of paper in his hand, at first simply nodded and then suddenly bowed formally. "I am in your debt, Lord Kuno."

"Humility does not suit you well, Saotome," Kuno observed, moving away. "I am not doing this for you."

Ranma wasn't going to mistake the gesture as a favor to himself. He turned around, heading for the house. Preparations by the staff of Rose Brier for leaving for Nerima were underway.

Large cloths were brought out, bundling everything that hadn't been in the house when he and Kodachi were married. He didn't move to direct the women working, nor the samurai helping them, as he headed straight for his room.

Stealing Nabiki from a death sentence wasn't an entirely new concept. However, it needed a bit more planning than the small sketch and the timetable Kuno had handed over.

* * *

Kuno stared at the thin shoji that partitioned the room where Nabiki was kept from the hallway he was standing in. He was being idiotic, standing in front of a paper door where light filtered through, enough for Nabiki to know he had already wasted a good few minutes in front of it. 'My reputation with Nabiki cannot be any worse,' he reminded himself. 

Making up his mind he slid the door open and motioned for her guard to leave the room. They quickly left, and left her with him. He deposited clean clothes near her then eyed Nabiki for a second, not knowing how to start without offending her pride. She looked less than comfortable with stout ropes binding her legs in front of her and even thicker ones holding her hands behind her back. He wondered how any of his samurai could have placed them on her person without her permission.

Taking out his tanto he knelt down to remove her bindings. Nabiki, sensing his intent, shifted her bonds away from him. "I'm a prisoner, Lord Kuno. I should not be given privileges."

"Would you escape?" Kuno asked, hoping that she would say 'yes'.

"You know the answer to that, Lord Kuno," she told him darkly, using her bound hands to flip herself to a standing position. Even bound, Nabiki could muster enough fight. "I gave my word at my brother's wedding."

"Then why insist on these bindings?" Kuno questioned her logic, moving his left hand over her sore wrists. "They are unnecessary and cause you discomfort. I trust you, Lady Nabiki."

"You give me too much credit," she cautioned him, although she let Kuno cut the bindings holding her hands and feet. "I trust my brother has buried your sister on Kuno land?" The Kuno head did not have any preference on Kodachi's burial site other than expedience. So Tatewaki and his father had agreed that Rose Brier was Kuno land and that Kodachi could remain there. It effectively branded Rose Brier as the Kuno's property, even if Tatewaki didn't want to take Rose Brier away.

"I never wanted this to happen," Kuno told her, backing away from Nabiki and sheathing the dagger while she rubbed her wrists to regain her blood circulation. "My sister was not fit to be married. She should have never been placed in such a situation. I did not think she would find your brother."

"Hindsight is a wonderful thing, is it not?" Nabiki raised an eyebrow at Kuno. The room was not well lit, but she could make out the pain in his eyes. "I'm sorry, I spoke out of turn. She was your sister."

"He is your brother. I find that you would do anything for someone you love." Kuno took Nabiki's hands in his and turned them over, surprising her. He noted scars from the fight with Kodachi alongside the rope burns. "Women should never learn the Art. Why do you study it Nabiki? Because of Ranma?"

Snatching her hand back from Kuno, Nabiki frowned. "Why does everybody think my life revolves around Ranma? It doesn't."

A sad smile appeared on Kuno's face as he slowly nodded. "It does. You may deny it Nabiki, but you became his shadow the second you were born."

The slap resounded against the room. "I am not my brother's shadow."

He searched her face, ignoring the insult. "Then answer me. Why did you learn the art?"

"Why did you?" Nabiki countered, rising to his challenge. "Because of someone or just because?"

"There is never a 'just because'." Kuno shook his head and opened the window towards the outside. "Leave me, Nabiki. I do not want the oath that binds you to me."

Nabiki opened her mouth in surprise and closed it again. "I am not leaving your care until I am **dead**, Kuno. I do not want the Kunos to hound my brother and I until the end of time, just because you let me go."

"I swear that no Kuno sword will touch Saotome blood because of your fight with Kodachi." Nabiki deepened her frown at his words. "I vow this on my father's land and on my sword."

Nabiki shook her head. "You are not the Kuno head, Tatewaki. You are merely heir, and I know how much that counts. You can do nothing."

"Why do you think father isn't here for his own daughter's funeral?" He stared at her, wanting her to understand why he wanted her to go.

"He would not think this wise," Nabiki cautioned.

"I do not think loving you is wise either, but I cannot help that." He had not meant to say the thought out loud, but he had said it before he could seal it away.

Nabiki backed away. Kuno did not dare show emotion. Nabiki backed away from professions of love. She did not like men who loved her. "You toy with me, Kuno."

"Marry me."

Nabiki opened her mouth and closed it again. "You cannot be serious. I cannot marry you. I'm married. I killed your sister. Do these words make sense to you?"

"I have never been more serious in my entire life. You've been away from your husband for years. By now, your marriage should be legally terminated. Become Buddhist again, Nabiki. Convert Ranma and your son back to Buddhism, and be rid of the Christian laws. Your Christianity has already served its purpose. You are free from your fiancés. Kodachi was the only Christian among us."

Nabiki bit back a laugh. "Yes, I could return to Buddhism. However, I refuse to marry you." She did not want to be tied down again. Not to Kuno, nor to Ikkasei.

Changing tactics Kuno laid his hand out before her. "Remove your shirt."

Nabiki stared at him defiantly for a minute, before she stripped off the formal black garment that she used for Saotome gatherings and slapped it on his outstretched hand without breaking his gaze. The bindings she used for her chest kept her covered enough for her dignity, though Kuno suspected she would still hold that icy stare had she been clad in nothing. "I believed up until now that though you followed every chit from here to Hokkaido that you were at least **honorable**. I will not trade my body for my freedom, Kuno. I told you I was fine with dying."

His gaze flickered across her. She was still wearing the dark pants that that came along with the silk shirt, though only the white linen bandages hid her breasts from view. A trace of hurt struck Kuno's countenance, and a flash of betrayal stoked his eyes as he absorbed what she meant. "Do you really think so low of me, Nabiki?"

"I may be defeated, but I am not broken," Nabiki repeated in equally measured tones, defiance strong in her eyes.

"I thought that maybe, Saotome Nabiki, we were friends. That maybe, even if my sister has brought hurt into your family, you believed in our friendship." He did not wait for her reply as he withdrew his sword from its scabbard and gently closed his left hand over the blade and from the bleeding wound he supplied the shirt with blood until it was thoroughly soaked.

Staring at her shirt with morbid fascination, Nabiki's eyes riveted to Kuno's bleeding hand, spikes of guilt prickling at the back of her mind. Tearing a piece of cloth from what was left of her pants, she tied it around Kuno's wound. "You idiot. I told you I don't mind being dead."

Before she could say more Kuno embraced her and closed his eyes, whispering, "I do not want you dead, Lady Nabiki."

"It has to be done, my lord," she warned him as she tried to disentangle herself, but Kuno's grip was stronger than her feeble attempts to leave. "I have tipped the scales, and they must be balanced once again."

"Why must you be so stubborn?" Kuno asked, finally loosening his grip, allowing Nabiki to step away from him.

"Because I am," as if the words answered everything, Nabiki shrugged. This time she took Kuno's hands and enfolded it with hers. "I'm sorry Kuno... I belong to someone else. I cannot possibly marry you."

"Tendo Sohin," Kuno acknowledged his name with a nod. "Sometimes I wished that your engagement to him was a lie to get out of the stupid wager we arranged when we were children."

Nabiki resisted telling him the truth, and before she could say anything, Kuno continued. "My offer still stands, Lady Nabiki. You do not have to marry me. I just do not want to see you die." His sword was still bloody from the self-inflicted wound as he moved towards Nabiki.

"I'm not into blood-compact things," Nabiki joked in a halfhearted tone. However, she didn't move when Kuno took her long braid and cut it off. Nabiki frowned raising her fingers to her hair. "If I knew you wanted me to have a haircut, you should have just said so."

Kuno shook his head at her, taking the braid he cut off and lifting the bloodied shirt from the floor. Before he could leave however, Nabiki called out to him, "Wait, Lord Kuno." Kuno turned around to look at her, while Nabiki crossed her arms in front of herself. "Please, at the end of my braid there is a piece of hair that binds it. Could I have it back?"

Kuno raised an eyebrow, not expecting such a request from her. He took the small strand away from the bundle he'd just cut, and held it out to her without a word.

Taking it, Nabiki helplessly tried to retie her hair in a semblance of a ponytail. She failed to do so, while Kuno just stared at her efforts. She sighed and dropped her fist, still holding the whisker in her palms. "What use is the dragon whisker to me if I die tomorrow? And Genma wanted it so badly."

"The short hair suits you, Lady Nabiki," Kuno complimented her, as he turned away and moving out of the room. He did not understand the words she uttered, though he knew they were about the strand he had just handed over.

Nabiki sighed as she fingered the rough edges of her new haircut while staring at the dragon whisker in her hands. "Wait until I turn into a guy," Nabiki muttered, sinking into the tatami. She brought her knees up close to her body so she could rest her head against them.

'Kunos do know how to give surprises, don't they?' she thought staring at the change of clothes that was laid neatly on the floor. She had no time for regret, nor foolish promises. She knew what she was planning to do when she looked for Kodachi.

'And my punishment?' Nabiki hugged her knees. 'How many years have I remained hidden in Kamakura?' She might not have killed her husband's brother, but she might as well have, for the punishment meted out to her.

She had been trying to be strong for so long that she had forgotten the feeling of being alone, devoid of both hope and a future.

She told her brother that she didn't need to be rescued, but she was wrong, deep down inside. Though there could be no other option than death, she knew she wanted to live.

It was what kept her hidden in Ranma's house for so long, the reason she resisted the urge to kill Happosai, the reason she had waited for so long to kill Kodachi.

She wanted to see Sei grow up. What mother didn't want to see her child live? To see what manner of man he would make.

And she still yearned for the family that she could not hope to have.

She crumpled to the floor.

Dear gods, she still wanted to be saved.

The scar on her back burned now, even though the wound had long since healed. Another chance at life sounded too good to be true, especially since she had already cheated a death sentence once.

She desperately wanted to see her son grow up, wanted to see Ranma find what he'd been searching for ... wanted to find happiness for herself.

A tear crept its way to her eyes while she looked up at the ceiling, willing the burning sensation to leave. While living was what she wanted, dying was needed. She dropped her head back to her knees and hugged them closer while her guards were not in the room.

For a moment, she was allowed to be weak.

-

Ranma dropped down from the roof of the Dragon Inn, wincing at the slight sound his feet made against the tatami. Because the Dragon Inn was owned by one of their most trusted vassals, he didn't want the bad reputation of a hijack on their heads. But it couldn't be helped, he just wished Kuno had chosen a different inn.

The inn was silent. It was the dead of the night and all he could hear were the cicadas, but he tried to be quiet and fast getting into the inn. Not wanting to waste more time, he opened the piece of paper Kuno had given him and squinted at it in the dim light. He kept to the walls, turning at the last corner in the sketch.

Keeping his eye on the doorway Kuno had marked, Ranma counted six guards. Ranma frowned, they were enough to cause quite a stir. He was not fool enough to charge at them when they could bring more, and six were too many to defeat rapidly.

'Looks like it has to be through the roof then,' Ranma thought, as he moved towards one of the open windows and then shinnying up the roof with as much silence he could muster. Once there, he noted the slant of the tile and the locations relative to the rooms. Nabiki was in one of the outer rooms. Ranma wondered what Kuno had told his samurai for them to even allow Nabiki in such a vulnerable spot.

Sliding slowly instead of walking to avoid more noise, Ranma reached the other end of the roof, which from the layout, seemed to be Nabiki's room. Securing himself on the eaves by hooking his leg over it, he swung below to check.

He was rewarded by soft lamp-glow, and the sight of Nabiki lying on the tatami furthest from the futon. Opening the window soundlessly, he dropped inside the room headfirst then used his arm to flip upright. By the time he was standing, Nabiki looked up from her position and was glaring at him.

"And I thought we were clear about you and your heroic antics," Nabiki reprimanded softly, lifting her chin up towards her knees and sighing. She extended her hand towards him in offering. "It's the dragon whisker. Take it to Genma."

Ranma looked at it and her unbelieving. "Kami-sama, Nabiki. Why don't you just accept my help? Why do you have to fight me? Why are you so damned stubborn?"

Nabiki bit back laughter, mindful of the guards just outside her room, pocketing the dragon whisker once again. "As compared to you?"

"And here I was trying to save you," Ranma quipped. He took a bundle that had been tied around his back for security and threw it at her. "Here's my ceremonial shirt. You just **had** to be captured in these clothes, didn't you?"

"And who asked **you**?" Nabiki demanded, a little irritated by him, although she accepted his offer since she was shirtless. She raised an eyebrow since it was an extra, and not the shirt he wore going there. "You knew I needed one?"

Ranma shrugged tapping his foot impatiently while she shrugged in the loose black shirt. She wondered who would sew him a new one. 'Probably mother.' She wondered why he had brought her the black silk since it was the only one in his possession, its twin already in Kuno's hands.

She barely finished the last button when Ranma moved forward and grabbed her by the wrist. No matter how hard he was going to argue with her, Nabiki would remain intransigent. "Get ready for a run, Nabiki. I'm not wasting any more time arguing with you."

"Wha--" whatever she was going to say next was cut short by Ranma slinging her against his shoulder and breaking through the shoji doors. Thus, she was given a good view of them running, and all the Kuno bodyguards chasing after her.

"You idiot," Nabiki insulted him half-heartedly, warily eying their pursuers, knowing that Ranma carried her because she would have refused to run to escape. "If you just **had** to rescue me, couldn't you use the **back** doors? Did we need to wake **every** samurai in the neighborhood?"

"Hey, my rescue, my style," Ranma retorted, breaking out of the inn into the open night air, navigating along the zigzagging houses around the inn's vicinity.

"Try roof hopping. It works wonders with pursuers," Nabiki suggested in a deadpan voice, trying to hold on to whatever scraps of dignity she has left while escaping slung against Ranma's shoulder, roughly bouncing every time he swerved around a bend.

"Hey, I'm the one running here," Ranma reminded her while the rest of Kamakura was awakened by the shouts of the Kuno samurai. He took one jump against a rooftop took three more rooftops and abruptly stopped at one of the thatch houses. Ranma set her down and hurried her inside the house. Through a bamboo water container he held, he quickly splashed some of its contents over her and finished the rest on himself.

Nabiki-kun frowned at the water, wiping the droplets away from his face, scowling at Ranma while loosening the bindings around his chest and simultaneously trying to tie the dragon whisker against his already lengthening hair. "You have got to be kidding me."

"You are on time, Saotome. Where is the Lady Nabiki?"

At the voice Nabiki turned around and grimaced as Kuno appeared from the shadows of the small house. With him was a small lamp, her shirt and her hair. "Kuno. I didn't expect you here."

Kuno raised an eyebrow at her words. "I find you queer, Saotome, for it was your plan to begin with. Mine was only the directions of her whereabouts." Kuno pointed towards the backdoor. "I have secured a horse from my own stock, Saotome. Escape would be swifter with it."

"I'm liege, I can't escape Kamakura," Ranma-chan said softly. She directed a small smile towards Kuno. "Thank you for your help, Kuno. Nabiki will be safe for the moment. We need to hurry, the samurai were right behind me."

Kuno looked confused, though he handed Ranma the lamp, Nabiki's hair, and the original black shirt she wore. Ranma tore the shirt to pieces scattering some occasionally over the area, but the largest piece she kept. Moving towards one of the sides of the house covered in tarp Ranma uncovered a headless woman. She dragged the dead woman to the center of the house and covered her upper body with the last scraps of Nabiki's shirt. When that was done, Ranma threw the lantern over the body. The body ignited quickly, making Nabiki suspect that the woman was laced with lamp oil.

"One of the prisoners beheaded this morning," Ranma said by way of explanation while handing Nabiki's sword back. "Go to one of the safe houses along the border, Nabiki, nearing the south, away from the Kuno lands."

Kuno looked confused by the conversation, although he did not give voice to his bafflement. Nabiki took the sword resignedly. "Then I shall take the one near the Suruga," naming the province adjoining Sagami to the west. "I will wait for you there, Ranma. You'd better come."

"I'll follow you. We need to plan what we're going to do next," Ranma acceded, pushing Nabiki out of the back door hurriedly. When Nabiki was completely out of sight, Ranma took in the sight of the burning body. Already the smell of the burning flesh was wafting in the air.

"You are risking your town by starting this fire," Kuno noted while staring at the orange flames, already leaping at the roof of the house.

"And you're risking your heirship by helping Nabiki. This's the nearest eta house to the waterways. It'll be contained soon." Ranma turned to Kuno, drawing a sword from its saya. "We're not through Kuno. We need to fight."

"Fight you?" Kuno looked shocked at the idea. It was unusual for either of the Saotome twins to carry swords, and the sword Ranma was carrying now was almost identical to the one he had just handed over to Nabiki. "Why?"

"Because I have to look like I was stopping you from killing her." Ranma explained irritated, already in an easy stance. "I thought we already went through this. We burn the body beyond recognition, the head was taken by me because I fought it for you as a trophy. You managed to cut off her hair."

"I meant, why you?" Kuno clarified in turn, but he did draw his own sword against Ranma.

"Because I'm the only one left," Ranma said simply, charging at Kuno with her sword. They needed to make it look real for the Kuno samurai, and they had to finish this quickly to tame the fire in this eta house. "Let's make her death look believable Kuno."

* * *

Nabiki-kun reined the horse Kuno provided him near the safe house in the border. There were signs of occupancy, showing that the Tendos were still present, or passed by the house recently towards their final destination. 

She jumped off the horse gracefully then slapped it on the behind so that it would run free. It would be suspicious to see a reined horse in a supposedly-deserted house in the middle of nowhere.

She entered the silent house, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the thin light, when she felt the cold glint of steel against her neck. Either she had caught up with the Tendos, or bandits had caught up with her. She raised her arms in surrender.

This was the closest shelter they had where they could re-group and get some supplies. In a letter that Ranma had shoved to her when she was fleeing, Ranma had already explained the important matters in Sagami while she had been away.

"What's your business here?" the barely audible voice was low and spoken just behind her ear.

"I own this house." Nabiki-kun answered, not that it would matter if he really was dealing with some renegade mercenaries. "Now who might you be? Is it the Tendos or just some scalawag who's taken residence?"

"It's Ranma-sama, Sohin," Ifuku informed her brother in the darkness, confirming Nabiki's words. She stepped out from the shadows and bowed. "Is there trouble in Kamakura, my lord?"

The sword was quickly put down, and Sohin, who was holding the sword just moments before, bowed as well. "My apologies, my lord. We need to be cautious in these times. You must bring urgent news, for you to follow us. Did Kikuko give up any information of importance?"

"I'm not Ranma... I'm Shizukama, Lady Shori." Nabiki-kun closed her eyes. She had completely forgotten about Kikuko because of her little escapade. Torture was an investment that required both time and a good deal of patience. She would have taken more useful information from the woman if she had not left, but Kikuko had been a last priority of sorts. "Nabiki has told me to inform you that the Tendos have been keeping close track of the exiles that they could get their hands on, and usually executed them if they felt that they could be a threat."

"But why? These were old men." Sohin frowned, not understanding.

"Men have children who are loyal to what their fathers believe in, Eruchii-sama." Nabiki opened one of the shelves which contained paper and an ink stone to write out names and places that Kikuko had confessed to. "I will send you more, if Kikuko says more."

"Is there any urgent news?" Sohin prodded, and Nabiki could sense that he was at the brink of panic at the great number of days it was taking to break Kikuko. Although Nabiki sympathized, they could not rush the process.

"No, I just had a horse for transport," Nabiki explained. Nabiki frowned at the Tendos. The three heirs were making poor time. She had estimated that they would reach Owari, the end of the entire Saotome stronghold within two months. As it was, the Tendos had barely made it out of Sagami.

It was a trip that took her three days of hard-riding but could probably stretch to a week of days when walking with a group. But then, the Tendos had to stop to gather information about their exiled relatives. That would have slowed them. "I needed to meet someone here. My friend and I must travel to Nerima after tonight, and this is the closest safe-house to my mother's house."

Ifuku motioned for the small pack where rations were kept. "You must be starving, my lord. Have some food."

Throughout the trip, Nabiki had only taken in water, but though it was the only thing filling her stomach, her entire escape had robbed her of her appetite. She declined the offer. Akane entered the room through one of the side shoji just as she turned down the rations. "Ifuku-san, here's the water for the tea --" She stopped short when she saw Nabiki, who was staring at her intently.

"Na --" Akane whispered the start of the name, but Nabiki interrupted. The way she could tell the twins apart in an instant was uncanny, just as Cologne had remarked.

"Shizukama," Nabiki-kun corrected Akane before she revealed the Jusenkyo curse to Sohin. Nabiki did not want him to learn of her presence until she placed some space between them. From what she remembered, Sohin had not learned of her other form yet. She wasn't inclined to reveal her secrets. "Sorry, I'm not Ranma, Lady Akane. Although I do hope that he arrives quickly since he has planned quite an elaborate mess."

"Shizukama, then." Akane frowned at her then turned towards Ifuku who was giving her a small nod. She was one of the maids who knew about the twins' unique condition, but it looked like she was willing to pretend ignorance as Nabiki wished. "What are you planning now?"

"Making Happosai regret tampering with our lives, for one thing," Nabiki murmured, although how she would do it with a death warrant hanging over her head needed a little more planning than her current situation permitted. "Could you regain the Tendo land within the month?"

"We could not **travel** to Tendo land within the month, Shizukama-san. We need a few months to reach Tendo land." Sohin shrugged then turned to Ifuku. "Although my sister has informed me that we might rally a few men if we go to the old houses loyal to the Tendos."

Ifuku nodded showing several parchment papers written for transport by pigeon. "Sanuki is Tendo land. It is time that one with Tendo blood hold it once again."

Nabiki scanned the short letter that Ifuku scrawled down and nodded. It was simple direct to the point and would appeal to the old houses if they liked the old rule. "Very well, Ranma and I must tie down our business with Happosai before we leave. I must warn you that he does not hold Rose Brier anymore."

Akane snapped to attention at those words, the only reason coming to mind for the land's change of ownership would be the border troubles escalating to the taking of the estate, breaking the marriage contract, or Happosai's explicit orders. "What happened?"

"That is Ranma's story to tell," Nabiki answered slowly, knowing that Ranma would not know what to reveal to Akane about Kodachi's death and knowing that he would need time to adjust to it before he could start again. "All of Ranma's samurai are vacating Rose Brier and moving to his main han in Nerima."

Akane closed her eyes. 'So even that part of my life is over. Rose Brier is simply gone.' As easily erased from memory as the brief year that she spent in it. "What will losing Rose Brier do to either of you?"

"I have not thought about it yet." Nabiki frowned deeply. "It was careless of me not to think of the possibilities of reprimand coming from Happosai. At worst he would make us commit seppuku but I believe the old man still has use of us. Ranma is not heir by name alone."

"And Kodachi?" Akane paused, trying to find the correct wording for her questions, "Has she chosen to remain in Rose Brier or leave with the rest of you?"

"She has remained in Rose Brier." In a way, that was what Kodachi did. Forever buried on Rose Brier's land. "She will never leave Rose Brier."

"I see." Akane lowered her gaze slowly and Ifuku squeezed her hand in support for her newly found sister. Nabiki did not miss the gesture of solidarity in the siblings or the extreme sadness of her brother's pseudo-wife.

"Do you? There are hard truths in our lives, my lady," Nabiki murmured as she looked at the siblings. She leaned against the window in wait for her brother. "Sometimes, a lie is much easier to bear. You do not want my lies, but you cannot handle my truths either."

Sohin looked at her with a small frown in his face. He was wondering what lies she was telling. But she dangled a different lie in front of the three siblings.

Nabiki laid a hand on Akane's shoulder, tilting the woman's head up a little so that she could see Akane's expression. "If he were to tell you now that he's sorry, that he needs you, that he wants you to return, would you?" Akane opened her mouth in immediate agreement, but Nabiki stilled her before she could reply. "Would you leave your siblings now when they need a triumvirate to regain what they lost?"

"I--" Akane slumped her shoulders in resignation before she shook her head. "I am a Tendo before I am anything else."

"Then do not wish for something that would only hurt both of you," Nabiki advised gently.

"Akane, do you wish to retire?" Ifuku suggested, already pulling her sister into her fold. Ifuku had been Akane's maid long before she became her sister, so there was easy trust there. If Akane wanted to protest, it was silenced by Ifuku's gentle handling.

They disappeared into one of the closed off rooms.

Nabiki turned towards Sohin, whose attention was now solely focused on her. He had once guessed Ranma's cursed form by mere inference. She wondered if he would put two and two together this time.

Nabiki-kun was saved from making polite conversation by the slight rustle of the shoji. Nabiki turned around slowly knowing that Ranma-chan was at the door.

Nabiki had a small affinity for her twin, and invariably knew she was there for some time. "You're late," Nabiki pointed out.

"Not a word." Ranma-chan huffed as she freed her pony-tail from its bindings, releasing the long red hair. It glittered in the firelight since it was wet with perspiration. "You've the luxury of riding. I **ran** all the way. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to run for three days straight at a break neck pace?"

Nabiki sympathized, but honestly, the question was more rhetoric. Both of them knew that Ranma had more endurance than she had. He could run for more than a month at a break neck pace. A cup of water was offered to Ranma by Sohin and Ranma drank deeply before giving it up. "Thanks."

Sohin inclined his head in welcome. He did not own the house, but had been closest to the water.

"You've adjusted rather well to this," Ranma noted as he combed his hair back with his fingers, wiping his face twice with his hands and then running them across his hair once again.

Nabiki smiled ruefully and turned towards Sohin. "Could I please have a moment with my sister?"

Sohin looked at Ranma-chan, nodded and stepped out of the house to guard. Ranma followed the movements with his eyes until the man melted into the shadows. "He knows who I am, Nabiki. You didn't need to tell him I was your sister."

She ignored the statement, whispering, "What do you plan to do about Happosai? The old man isn't going to be agreeable just because we know he set up our entire lives," She moved towards a large earthenware pot which stored water.

"No. Happosai's too old and too sure of himself to step down after being daimyo for years," Ranma answered, standing to hand Nabiki a kettle. All of the Saotome hideouts were exactly alike in their layout. They were identical to the point that either twin could close their eyes and boil water. "I don't want to be daimyo, Nabiki. Power and me don't match. I'm not fit to be a ruler."

Nabiki placed her hand on her twin's shoulder for support before placing the pot in the small warmer. "No ambition for it either. What was Happosai thinking when he thought we could unseat him?"

"Children can unseat rulers, Nabiki. You've seen it happen. We have three-year-olds waiting on the hand of power," Ranma reminded her with a hard edge on her voice. He began braiding his hair as he talked with her. "I've got to move to our vassals moving towards Nerima quickly, although I guess a prolonged absence is necessary. It's necessary that they think I'm mourning you."

"You've buried me twice already," Nabiki reminded him. "I seem to be living only inside your walls now."

"You live within your own walls." Testing the water Ranma offered it to Nabiki. When Nabiki had reverted to her true gender, she used the remaining water on Ranma.

Nabiki considered their situation before stating, "I don't think we can do anything about Happosai but tell him that we are no longer his vassals."

"No longer heir to Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu?" Ranma touched a hand to his chest regretfully. Anything Goes has been his entire life. To ask him to give it up would be a small death.

"I have lost my sword again, killed myself twice, and now, we are leaving all we have known. But we will be free," Nabiki pointed out. "We will survive more with freedom than with responsibilities weighing us down."

"That's what worries me." Ranma leaned his forehead against his sister's shoulder closing his eyes. "Could we really leave? Our people depend on us. They're our responsibility."

Nabiki closed her eyes laying a hand on Ranma's cheek. "You make me so noble, Ranma. You make me into the person I think I could have been."

"I really should find you a husband. Then you wouldn't get all sappy on me," Ranma groused as he looked at her with a scowl.

She shook her head at him. Since she didn't want to discuss a change of husbands, she changed what she could control: the subject, "How does it feel to be a widower?"

"I've been too shocked to think about the fact that I **am**," Ranma answered truthfully. "I can't get used to the idea quickly."

Nabiki nodded. She understood why Ranma did not want to think about his wife or Akane. Even if she wanted to convince him, no words would sway him from leaving Akane to the Tendos. He had far too little choices with regard to her. "Stay here, get some rest. I will take your place with the vassals moving."

"That's right, I can't stay here for long," Ranma thought out loud. "I've things to do at Rose Brier before the people return to Nerima. If you just had to meet up, why the hell did you pick out a rendezvous point an entire three days travel away from Rose Brier?"

"Because Kuno samurai would be searching for you within a two-day travel radius," Nabiki pointed out, to which Ranma rolled his eyes.

"I've already instructed the samurai to pack up what they need and the transfer. All they need is my order to move out," Ranma explained. Nabiki gave a small smile at his preparations before her little rescue. They had been quite thorough.

"I told you I'm going instead," Nabiki reminded him. "Be reasonable. You're tired. You've been running around, taking care of me, burying your wife, and fighting with Kuno. I know you're stronger and more skilled than he is, but it needed to look like a good fight, ne?"

"I know I should protest more, but you're right. I'm too tired for this," Ranma allowed, moving towards the door. "You do know I'm still going to be standing watch tonight because of this, right?"

"Yes, you're such a baby, complaining like that." Nabiki winked at him and patted him on the shoulder again. Then in a more serious manner she reminded him, "You had better call Sohin inside. I'm leaving through the backdoor. I'll meet you midway between Nerima and Rose Brier, then?"

Ranma nodded and watched as she left quietly. After he was sure she was gone, Ranma stepped out to stand tree under the tree that Sohin had picked to serve as look out. "You're seriously not planning to stay there the entire night, right?"

Sohin jumped down from the branch awkwardly and Ranma gave him space to maneuver while Sohin regained his balance. "I was wondering when you'd finish your chat. It's freezing out here."

"I'll be with you until tomorrow," Ranma informed him.

Sohin shrugged. "It's your house, you're entitled to stay."

Ranma tilted his head to the side, watching Sohin as they entered the house. "It's fine. You can ask."

"I wasn't asking permission."

Ranma snorted. "We could dance around the subject the entire night while you try to sleep, or you could just come straight out and ask it. The answer would be a different thing, but you have a right to ask."

Sohin settled against one of the seats around the makeshift house. There had been enough shoji to divide the cottage into quarters, so they had erected the paper walls to separate the sleeping room from where the small kitchen was.

"Knowing doesn't really change anything."

Ranma shrugged as he moved towards one of the walls, sitting up against it. Sohin would sleep with the women to keep them safe, but Ranma would sleep in this room because he was still uneasy about Akane.

"Shizukama claimed that you were his sister."

"I thought you weren't asking," Ranma muttered, opening one eye at Sohin before he sighed. "Yeah, sort of. I'm sort of his sister."

Sohin blinked, trying to process that. There were a number of ways to interpret 'sort of'. None of which directly told him anything useful. "This sort of brother of yours, does he have a Jusenkyo curse?"

"That one you have to ask him," Ranma mumbled, shifting to a comfortable position against the wall to sleep in.

-

"What the hell is **he** doing here?" Akane's voice filtered through the entire house early in the morning.

Ifuku cringed and Sohin had an amused expression painted on his face. Sohin had speculated with him last night what her reaction to Ranma's sudden appearance would be. Sohin's guess was not far off the mark. "What happened to the idea that someone might get you from us?"

"You could tell from just one look I'm not her, huh," Ranma mumbled as he groggily stood up from his light sleep on the floor. He passed his hand over his eyes rubbing them into wakefulness. He had overslept. The sun was already out filtering through the thin paper windows. Although it was still relatively early, he had planned to leave quietly before dawn, but he underestimated his weariness. "Kami, Cologne was right, you could tell us apart almost instantly."

Akane folded her arms in front of her, tapping her foot impatiently against the tatami. She was not particularly happy with Sohin for keeping Ranma's presence from her. His sleeping form had taken her unawares. Though she had been excited in the beginning, anger finally filtered through. "And what has recognizing you got to do with anything?"

The idea that she could recognize him next to an identical twin was as intimate as any kiss. It was probably the reason all those stories about twins were formed in the first place. 'Marry the one who can tell you from your twin.' It was an old saying in the Amazon tribe, certainly prevalent in the Saotome stories as well. Ranma thought it might have been because Happosai tended to acculturate by sending off trainees to the Amazons. Ranma smiled, moving towards the water jar and scooping up some water with the bamboo ladle. "You wouldn't like it."

Ranma was uneasy that Sohin and Ifuku were both present to see them quarrel. Ranma and Akane had been almost married for a year. It was a tenuous relationship and the siblings were unsure of how to react. Ifuku and Sohin exchanged a glance before Sohin spoke up, "Akane, Saotome-san, we have arranged to talk to the guard of Akane -- that is, the guard of my sister. It would be a shock for him if they see her rise from the dead, so to speak, and we planned for Akane to stay here while we discuss the turn of events with him. We'll return in the afternoon." Before either Akane or Ranma could protest the Tendos' absence, the siblings had already left.

-

As Akane looked helplessly at Ranma, she relinquished her anger slowly to the sigh that built up. "I wish--" She stopped before she could voice it out. She had remembered Nabiki's words, 'Don't wish for something that would only hurt the two of you.' "Wishing will not help me will it?"

Ranma looked up from the bamboo ladle to find her looking away. It was difficult to look at a man that she had depended on for a year, that she fell in love with, and realize she could no longer be with him.

He placed the ladle down before answering her, "That depends." Akane felt that he wanted to ease the sadness she felt. But he was the one who caused it. He probably wouldn't be able to take it.

"On what?" It would have been easier if she didn't understand why he was pushing her away. He gave her both a family and a purpose when she had neither to begin with. All her wishes would be useless because even if he found it in himself to betray his marriage vows and let her stay, she could not leave her family so easily.

"On whether you could make your wishes come true," there was an ache in that voice. "What'd you wish for?"

She thought for a moment. "Do you go away on long battles? Battles where you didn't know when, or if, you'd return?" He nodded. "Was Nabiki always by your side?"

"Nabiki and I have different roles in life." She didn't understand, so he elaborated, "She's a strategist and a spy. I'm a fighter. We work hand in hand but not necessarily together."

"How do you leave her?" she asked, curious. "How does she send you off, knowing you might die and never see each other?"

"By believing that we'll see each other again, no matter what happens." The words were little more than a whisper. He looked at her in contemplation before adding, "By holding on to memories until we can make new ones."

"And do we have enough memories to tide us until forever?" Would any time beyond that moment be enough? He didn't answer her, so she asked instead, "What would you do if we only have this morning to remember?"

"Pretend that I have all the time in the world," he said the words with a flippancy that he did not feel. "I'm not sentimental."

"Then that would be my wish," Akane declared. "One day to stretch on to forever."

-

Sohin gave one last look at the small cottage that housed them for the night before leading Ifuku towards the main road and picking out the path towards the designated meeting point.

He sensed Ifuku's uneasiness. "They'll be all right," Sohin assured his sister as they walked companionably. They weren't hurrying because the meeting was not for hours yet. The confrontation between Akane and Ranma had forced them to leave the house earlier than necessary. "They're the most stubborn people I know, but they won't waste today."

"The most stubborn?" Ifuku smiled a little, shaking her head. "Don't lie to me, Sohin. They're not the most stubborn of all our acquaintances. They're certainly less stubborn than you."

"And you are the most annoying of wives," Sohin shot back with a smile. "You've grown sassy with age."

"I have you for a teacher," Ifuku murmured, shielding her eyes from the sun. "What are we going to tell Ryouhei-san about Akane?"

Sohin knew that she did not like the fact that they were going to meet Ryouhei without Akane. They had sent the letter on New Year's for the meeting, and since he had been near the vicinity, he had agreed to meet them. Ryouhei had not liked the idea of talking with them either, but he still had some loyalty to the Tendo name.

"Is that what you were worried about?" Sohin asked gently squeezing her shoulder for comfort. "He will believe what I tell him because I am who I am."

"He was never yours to command," Ifuku reminded him lightly. "He was loyal to Akane, but not because she was a Tendo. She treated him like a brother."

"He treated her like the empress, and we, the baggage that came along with her." Sohin laughed self-depreciatingly while shaking his head. "If Lady Chisei's land had been slightly smaller and Akane's mother's birth order slightly higher, father would have had dearest Chisei-sama as a consort and Akane would be legal heir."

"It doesn't change the fact that our mothers were peasants while hers was a noblewoman." There was a frantic desperation in her voice that he hadn't heard since Akane's death. "She is pure blood, Sohin. He hasn't forgotten that. He won't let us forget it either."

"When Akane was alive, she would remind you that she was our equal because her dear mother and father's match wasn't on the political agenda at the time." Sohin said the words without inflection. He'd lived through enough bigotry to learn not to take it from his own sister. "It was a love match. She was disowned. She only had a few handful of servants and the clothes on her back. This isn't about what-ifs, Ifuku, but what **is**."

"This isn't just about who you were born to." Ifuku took a deep breath. "He is **loyal** to Akane and you forget that I killed her in front of him."

-

'I shouldn't be here,' Ranma thought as they walked around the cottage following the stream as it curved. The area was remote, far from the city, good for martial arts training. Nothing but his thoughts would bother them.

He was on his way to Happosai, to demand that their liege set matters straight with them. His sister just killed his wife. He looked at Akane, giving her a side-long glance, wondering if Nabiki had told her about Kodachi. Since she hadn't brought it up yet, he didn't want to talk about it either. Why add the knowledge of his wife's death to her growing set of worries, if it would only cause her pain? It served no purpose but to taunt her of what was.

By the time they neared the bank in companionable silence, Akane had already slipped off her shoes and set them above the river bank. He eyed her form wearily, knowing that though she was lured to the water, he needed to be alert when she neared it.

She sank her toes in the stream and giggled as he approached her, rolling his pants up to prevent it from getting wet. "I'm hungry," she announced to no one in particular, eying the fish that darted past her feet, too swift to be caught by her bare hands.

Ranma grinned as he neared her, catching her before she stumbled into the knee high water. "You haven't eaten breakfast yet," he reminded her.

"Mmmm," Akane said half agreeing while regaining her balance, gripping Ranma's arm tightly. "These houses may be stocked with water and grain, but they don't exactly come with full meals."

"You don't say," Ranma deadpanned as he handed her the crudely fashioned fishing pole that he dug out of one of the cabinets at the house, arming himself with one as he eyed the length of the stream. He pointed to a tree whose branches hung over one of the bends. "Come on, let's stay there. If you didn't have these little safe houses you'd have hunted and fished. Expect that, once you leave Saotome territory. It's how we were trained during that ten year training trip."

Akane eyed the fishing pole warily. The one Ranma handed her was more like a spear. "You know, the last time I actually fished was when I was taken to watch an Ukai in Uji when I was young."

Ukai was a traditional method of river fishing, used since the Heian period, so Akane knew Ranma would understand what she was talking about. In her time, it was restricted to a few authorized people.

Ranma laughed, twirling the fishing pole easily on his arm. "Fishing with birds, with a boat, with fire in the evening and with two companions, ukai is more trouble than it's worth. Do you know how to use that?"

Akane used the shaft of the spear as a cane, helping her move towards the water as she eyed the hook. "How hard is it to use a spear?" she assured him.

He laughed at her again, settling around the water, making sure he wasn't wet enough to trigger the change. "Just be sure not to hit me with the hook," he joked. "These are spears fashioned like the Ainu ones. Pops took us there one summer. Nabiki got so tired of missing the head or the body of the fish that she copied one. See, if you use this, even if you hit the tail the fish is caught."

"Something that Lady Nabiki **can't** do," Akane murmured in false awe as she tried the feel of the spear on her hand. "She is human after all."

Ranma laughed at her comment then motioned towards the water. He demonstrated by spearing a char that wandered too close. The hook allowed the spear to pierce the flesh, snapping back to the shaft when the fish tried to pull away. He gave her another grin as he tugged on the tree branch that he pointed at earlier, revealing that there was a net fashioned into a basket that could hold their catch while they were in the water.

He dropped his catch inside and gave her a quick salute before allowing her a wide berth when he was sure she wasn't liable to injure herself with their small foray. Although the technique was not one she was used to, the three-foot spear handled like a standard spear and she was an Indiscriminate Grappling practitioner, she'd needed to learn some weapon handling.

He glanced occasionally at Akane, checking to see if she hadn't slipped and drowned in the thigh-high water, but she seemed fine other than the small frown of frustration and concentration that drew her eyebrows together.

She looked up and caught his gaze on her. "You haven't caught anything," Ranma accused, taking her mind off the fact that he was staring and bringing her competitive nature on.

She grimaced at him, indignant that he would point it out. "And how many have **you** caught?"

He tilted his head slightly towards their small basket which was already filled with fish. Her jaw dropped open. "You caught all **that** while I was trying to spear one fish?"

"You're just a bit slow," he said laughing. Dropping his last catch he raised an eyebrow at her. "So, how many could you eat?"

Ignoring the question, she sputtered, "**Slow**? I'll give you slow, mister."

Ranma whirled around, already in a defensive position, bracing himself for the hit of Akane's spear. It never came. What did come, to Ranma's complete surprise, was the splash of the freezing water across his face.

"Why you--" Ranma called out, as his gender shifted through the Jusenkyo curse.

Akane laughed, running across the water, towards the bank, her spear forgotten in the middle of the stream.

Ranma-chan narrowed her eyes at Akane as she gave chase, consciously placing the spear alongside her arm, trailing behind her, so if she stumbled and fell, she wouldn't injure herself.

Akane looked back at Ranma, but she lost her footing in the slippery riverbed managing to cry before she fell. Just as Ranma reached her, Akane's hand snaked out of the water to dunk him in, managing to drench Ranma completely.

When Ranma resurfaced he glared at Akane. "You are crazy."

And Akane couldn't help it, she laughed.

After a while, Ranma laughed along with her.

-

Sohin did not try to soothe the worry Ifuku felt because of their sister's former bodyguard. He sensed that she did not want the comfort he offered, so let her fret, seating her at a large branch carrying both of their weights.

The branch overlooked the small plain that was to be their meeting place. It took a while for Ryouhei to appear, but when he did, the large man dropped the bag carrying his belongings and an oversized bamboo umbrella down the tree.

Although he tried to show Ifuku that he was not worried about the meeting, he knew that Ryouhei was certainly a wild card. Pushing himself off the branch, he landed kneeling to the seated Ryouhei.

Not the best position to be in when one wanted to show he was their liege. Sohin stood up immediately, gauging the silent man. "You came."

"You summoned," he answered, his eyes seeking out Ifuku from the branch that Sohin just jumped down from. "Ifuku hasn't mastered moving from heights well."

Sohin looked back up to where his sister was clutching the branch he just left. She never did manage to do well on tree-hopping. Sohin extended his hands up to her, in a gesture that said he would catch her.

Seeing his offer Ifuku jumped down. Sohin encircled her waist, his two hands breaking her fall, and set her down beside him.

"Your wedded life makes you soft." There was mockery in that tone. "No children yet?"

Sohin waved his hand in a vague gesture, too tired of the charade, yet too careful to loose it. "Did you come to visit her grave, Ryouhei?"

His eyes steeled at the mention of Akane's grave. "I swore my life to protect her. I've not left this place because of that." He and Akane were hidden in another prefecture, but he had not returned to their old hiding place since her death.

Instead he had resided in Saotome territory. Because it had been Akane's final resting place. "We're going home," Sohin whispered. "I wanted you to know because you might want to go home with us."

"It's too late," he muttered. "You could have gone home ten years ago, when you were twenty, when you were old enough to rule. When you were twenty-five, when your uncle died. Now it's too late. You are not a triumvirate any longer, she is dead."

They had not returned to Sanuki ten years ago because he thought his uncle could handle Chisei. They did not return when he was twenty-five because they had Yuki to protect. "You were not the one to lose Sanuki, Ryouhei, you cannot be the one to choose when to retake it."

Ryouhei brandished his umbrella like a sword and thrust it out to Sohin. "Then let me take my revenge for Akane's life. You cannot be Sanuki without her, and she cannot rest without her killer's blood."

He felt Ifuku trembling behind him, the first sign of her despair. "All you think about with that head of yours is revenge, Ryouhei," Sohin berated as he pushed the umbrella to the side with his two fingers. "When will you realize that this has always been something more than you or her?"

"I will have her blood," Ryouhei proclaimed, pushing Sohin away from the protective position and lunging after Ifuku. Ifuku evaded the lunges through quick movements, but Sohin knew Ryouhei could wear his sister out.

Recovering from the shove, Sohin pivoted and struck Ryouhei once low by his legs and pinned the man with a foot. "Goddamnit, you always did attack first before thinking."

Ifuku collapsed on her knees as soon as Ryouhei was disabled, her shoulders shaking quietly. Sohin shook his head before rebuking the man, "Didn't you ever wonder why the three of us were in one place that one night?"

After they escaped, the three siblings had a difficult time evading the Tendos as three children and their protectors, so they had to separate, meeting up in the Tokaido.

Tokaido was months of travel away from Sanuki -- far enough for Chisei not to bother them regularly, and safe enough for them to assume different lives. Both Akane and Ifuku lived as servants finding a different prefecture, and Sohin, entering training in a monastery, was assured he would travel often.

These travels let him receive news about the Tendos, and he could talk to both of his sisters. There was one time when Chisei had almost found them because of their foster mothers, which is why the fake marriage was arranged.

"You weren't careful enough," Ryouhei spat out. The three heirs were never in the same place at once. And the rare visits Sohin paid his sisters were cautious and short. "Akane sought you out. She never told me why."

Sohin leveled his gaze at Ryouhei, never letting his foot stray from the vulnerable neck. "She came to me because I told her our cousin was in danger. She came to me because she had to meet my uncle's newest heir."

"And he was bait," Ryouhei accused. "Strong enough bait for the Tendo assassins to find their missing heirs. Strong enough bait to kill. But they didn't need to do that. Ifuku had killed her sister gladly."

"Ifuku did a foolish thing." Sohin sighed as he unsheathed his sword. "She executed a move that wasn't meant to be done without practice."

Sohin drove the sword towards Ryouhei then pulled it out of him again in two fluid moves. Ryouhei gasped out loud and Ifuku rushed by his side. "Sohin, please, that's enough."

Flicking the blood off his sword Sohin sheathed it again and kneeled beside Ryouhei. The sword had cut deep, entering through Ryouhei's upper left chest exiting diagonally behind his back. If it had been a real fight, the sword would have been thrust further, to access an enemy behind Ryouhei by surprise. "How do you feel?"

Ryouhei glared at him as Ifuku propped him up. She pulled off the large furoshiki that she carried around for her things and examined the wound. The wound was in fact lower than the clavicle and more to the periphery. It was nearer the armpits and not directly hitting the rib cage thus missing the lungs. The cut was clean and if stitched would work just as well before the injury happened.

"He didn't hit any large arteries, Ryouhei-san." She cut his upper shirt so she could staunch the blood flow. "Damnit, Sohin, you could have just explained."

"He would have never understood," Sohin explained his eyes boring down on Ryouhei. "Pain is a wonderful teaching instrument. Lady Nabiki has reminded me of it."

Akane and Ifuku were both trained in two suicidal moves to protect the heir when they were young. They were trained in it because it had been ingrained in them that Eruchii had to survive at all costs. And at that time Yuki had been threatened.

If executed correctly, Akane could have survived the fatal blow that killed both the adversary who hadn't seen Ifuku's sword as well as Akane herself.

"Making me understand wouldn't bring Akane back," Ryouhei argued, shrugging Ifuku's ministering hands away. "It doesn't change the fact that Ifuku killed her."

"You'd be surprised at what miracles the New Year can bring," Sohin said while standing, then he picked up Ryouhei's discarded umbrella. "We're going back home with or without you. Come with us and we'll tend your wounds."

"I've seen your miracles," Ryouhei retorted angrily. "I don't care for them."

"Come with us to tend that wound and you might just be surprised how much you care for our brand of miracles," Sohin suggested tossing Ryouhei his umbrella.

-

For a spare house in the middle of nowhere, the safe house was well stocked with necessities like cooking utensils and the twins' clothing. Everything was kept in order by the Saotome samurai who spent their training trips in them, and were stocked every month by trusted samurai.

Akane came out of the house with a blanket that Ranma had told her to fetch, and spread it out under a large tree that provided shade.

Ranma was pleased she had already kept the fishing poles while he had cleaned and barbecued their fish as well as cooked the rice. He had allowed her to boil water, so he was now male with a towel around his shoulders, a slightly damp red Chinese shirt replacing the blue one he wore earlier.

They sat in companionable silence as they ate around the fire trying to regain the body heat they lost while fooling around. Their clothes hung on one of the tree branches that had access to light to dry. He leaned against the tree trunk as he assessed the way she was dressed, sated from the meal. "Nabiki's clothes are just right for you," he murmured sleepily.

Akane tugged self-consciously at the Chinese dress. The other clothes inside the cabinets were a few kimonos and the standard Chinese shirt and pants that Ranma favored. He pulled at her hands, toppling her with them as he settled her head on his lap. They didn't speak for a while, letting the still surroundings imprint the moment.

When Ranma broke the silence, he was reluctant, "I need to go, Akane. I have to meet my sister in Nerima. We're far enough from her as it is. We have to be solid when we appear before Happosai." Akane knew that at moments of extreme importance they absolutely could not be divided. Whenever an issue was important, the twins always stood together when addressing Happosai. It lent the situation gravity.

Akane nodded. She didn't want to talk about what-ifs because it might sap her courage. She didn't want to hold on to hope because its death would kill her slowly.

Ranma sensed the weariness in her so he pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her. "I don't know what's going to happen. I promised your siblings that you would be with them. And the uncertainty of my fate with Happosai--"

He broke off, he didn't want do dwell on the bad memories, he didn't want to leave her with sadness. If these were their last moments, then he didn't want to taint that.

"Close your eyes." She looked up at him and he shook his head. She always questioned his requests but he repeated it more firmly, "Close them. Please."

When she did, she breathed in the fresh scent of the river as well as the clean distinct scent that she recognized as Ranma. She felt the heat of his strength from his arms around her and the slow beat of his heart against his chest. This stillness of their surroundings emphasized his words. "This is your wish," he whispered. "A moment frozen forever."

"And if I return to my time?" Akane asked.

There was a long pause. Ranma let her go slowly, standing up to leave. "You have a life there, different from what we have here. But I will find you. If I die, my soul will find you. I might not be who I am to you now, but I will find you."

"Before you go, I would like to ask for my ..." Akane trailed off wondering if he would remember a similar request long ago.

Ranma closed his eyes knowing that if he could see her, he could not deny any request, even one that asked him to stay. More so because he knew that this was **Akane**, whatever previous reservations he had when she was in Kodachi's body were gone. "For what?"

Akane tugged on the sleeve of his Chinese shirt. "Please, face me. I would like to see you before you leave."

He dreaded the answer to his question for he had a sinking feeling that he knew the request even before she uttered it. He took a deep breath before he faced her looking up at him, and he remembered what she looked like the night she had left. She might have looked different, but she felt the same.

"You haven't fulfilled my request yet," Akane reminded him softly her breath lightly touching the silk shirt he wore. She looked up to him and smiled slowly. There was more than a hint of sadness. "My good-bye."

He took a deep breath as he looked at her, almost choking back his response, remembering the last time he had heard those words from her. That had been when she had looked like Kodachi. This time, it was her eyes that pleaded back to him. "Your what?"

"My good-bye," Akane whispered again.

He leaned towards her, his forehead against hers. "You always have to make things difficult don't you, Akane?" Her name sounded faint. It was the first time he voiced her name since she switched places with Kodachi. It made her long for him more.

He paused for a while looking at her before he pressed his lips on her own. He had kissed her before, but this time, it was Akane's taste that was left on his lips, and he groaned because he knew it was going to be painful to let her go, because he wanted her so much to stay. There was aching and the bittersweet knowledge that they would probably not see each other and that it was his choice that was keeping them apart.

"Lady Akane!" the call from the unfamiliar voice broke the two of them apart. A man, standing in front of Ifuku and Sohin, clutching his left arm. There was surprise in his face, half horrified and half elated, a mixture that Ranma never thought would be able to blend well in a face.

The new comer was a roughly built man, with wild hair sticking out of a cloth that served to keep his hair away from his eyes. He was holding his shoulder and walked as if he was in pain. Ranma's attention turned to both Sohin and Ifuku who managed to look more dismayed at the interruption than Ranma himself.

Ranma leveled a critical eye at Ryouhei. He seemed older than Ranma was, roughly three to five years. A mere fifteen when the Tendos were banished. Ranma realized that this man was the reason why the Tendo children had survived. They had a fighter amongst their ranks.

He turned to look at Akane, who managed to step back and stumble into his arms. She looked ashen and ready to faint. He narrowed his eyes at the newcomer, who by now, had performed a deep bow. A name escaped from her lips, "Ryoga." He frowned at the familiar name, he remembered her mentioning something like this to him before.

The man looked up and then leveled a look at both Ifuku and Sohin before facing Akane again. "Ryouhei of the South Clan, my lady."

Akane stepped out of Ranma's arms to reach out and touch Ryouhei's shoulder, a signal for him to stand and meet his lady. As she did so, the name dropped back into Ranma's memory. "Your husband," Ranma stated dazedly.

Akane turned back to look at him wildly. There was pain in her eyes now. And indecision. He had been correct. Names usually failed his memory, but he had remembered one of the initial stories she had told about her past life. It was the name that she had murmured in anguish those first nights when she had fallen off the horse. At the time he simply thought it had been one of Kodachi's numerous lovers. Ranma managed a small smile.

"You are mistaken, sir, I am not her husband." he corrected. There was fierce over-protectiveness in his voice. "My lady is the daughter of the former liege of Sanuki. My lady is not my wife, nor could she be yours."

So the reason they were interrupted was apparent. Ryouhei thought that he was going to defile his mistress. Without the two swords, the standard topknot for his hair, and the hakama, Ranma looked like a Chinese merchant.

Ranma smiled self-depreciatingly. "The lady of a noble samurai house is not suitable for me. Your past has decided for you, Akane."

"Ranma, I--" she faltered at the next words.

Ranma made it easier for her to choose. He released her from his arms. "We've already exchanged good-byes, Akane." He walked past the two of them and stood in front of Sohin. He opened his mouth to bid farewell to the eldest Tendos, but his pride would not let Ryouhei's insult slip. "Was it your sword that hit him?"

Sohin nodded in affirmation. Ranma smiled cockily. "You're very accurate with that sword of yours. Try not to kill too many of my men on your battlefield."

"I will try, Saotome-san," Sohin murmured in acknowledgement.

Ranma nodded then walked towards Ifuku. He leaned to whisper, "What expression is across his face now?"

Ifuku lowered her eyes to the ground before answering, "He is surprised, my lord. Your name is well known in these parts."

He managed a brief smile. "Ahh, Ifuku -- Shori-san. I'll miss you. You're too much like my sister. Good luck on your journey. There're things for fixing wounds inside the hut."

"Thank you, my lord." As Ranma walked by, she whispered. "You have always been kind to me, my lord."

And then he was gone.

-

Ifuku brought out needle and thread from the inside of the house and Akane boiled some water while Ryouhei lay near the river bank, where the trees had given way to the strong light of the afternoon.

As Ranma had promised, there were enough supplies in their refuge to clean the wound and a needle and a thread to patch it up. Ifuku cut some of the thread and added both the fiber and the needle into the boiling water.

Since the women were busy Sohin kept an eye on Ryouhei wearily. "Stubborn as a mule and twice as dumb," Sohin complained, as he sat on the dirt floor, taking out his sword and scabbard and resting it in the circle of his arms.

"You are an insufferable idiot," Ryouhei argued.

There was an uneasy silence between the two of them. Sohin had never been close to Ryouhei because Ryouhei had always separated himself from both him and Ifuku, choosing Akane's protection above all else. He had been the only guard who had survived their escape, owing it to the fact that he was the youngest and that there were fewer people who tried to attack Akane than Sohin himself.

Ryouhei was older than Sohin, and Ryouhei had always made it known who he wanted as sole heir. It made for poor relations. After the long stretch of silence, and the women still obviously trying to ready for the stitches Ryouhei would need, Ryouhei finally asked, "Who was that man?"

Sohin couldn't help it, he grinned. He had been wondering when the man was going to bring it up. Fiercely protective of Akane, Ryouhei scared half of the woman's suitors away. Sohin wondered briefly how he was going to answer that, and settled for being deliberately obtuse, "You can't have stayed in Saotome land for ten years and not recognize the goddamned name."

Ryouhei sat up and threw a punch at him. Sohin evaded neatly by leaning away. He'd briefly forgotten that Ryouhei had such a volatile temper. "I meant: who was he to her?"

"I knew I should have wounded you in your sword arm," Sohin muttered pushing Ryouhei on the ground. "If you move, Akane's going to get all upset because the patient can't get simple instructions like 'lie down' correctly."

The words settled Ryouhei, he'd do anything for his mistress. Fighters were always easier to manipulate. The stronger their sword arm, the more gullible they were. "Then you better treat me correctly," Ryouhei sullenly said, although he did manage to lie down again.

Sohin closed his eyes. "I think inviting you along was counterproductive."

"Because you don't like me?" he challenged.

"Because you're going to render me stark-raving mad!" Sohin corrected, his voice drawing the attention of Ifuku. Ifuku whispered something to Akane before moving towards the men.

"And we can't very well have a mad liege could we?" Ryouhei jibed.

Before Sohin could give an equally scathing retort, Ifuku cleaned Ryouhei's wound with warm water, trying to remove all of the blood. "If it's Sohin, whyever not? Chisei's quite insane and you put up with her." Ifuku muttered.

"I do not put up with Chisei!" Ryouhei protested.

"Well, with the way you mange to undermine the eldest heir, we can't call you helpful either." Ifuku reprimanded. She straightened, taking all of the bloody things with her and giving Ryouhei a meaningful look before leaving the two of them alone again.

Ryouhei watched her move back with Akane before telling Sohin, "I never thought Ifuku was that spunky."

Sohin couldn't resist saying, "I've been teaching her."

"Kami-sama help us," was Ryouhei's retort. Finally he sighed. "You haven't answered my question. Who is he to her?"

That was another thing that Sohin forgot about Ryouhei. He was single minded. Sohin sighed, his forehead resting on the handguard of his sword. "Akane --"

"Setsuko," Ryouhei reminded Sohin of the name they used when in hiding. Sohin had stopped using the name because of his sister's death, but now that she was 'alive' it was a wise precaution. Although with the way they were throwing about the Tendo name, it was hardly one of their most discreet moments.

"Setsuko was ill," Sohin explained, trying to keep the story as close to Akane's 'half-truth' as possible. "She can't remember much of what happened."

"But it is Setsuko. She has the same markings on her body, the same mole on her neck and the scar that Ifuku gave her when Ifuku dealt Jiro's death blow." Ryouhei inhaled deeply as he looked up in the sky.

After the entire ordeal with Ranma, Ryouhei had demanded proof, and the only proof the Tendos could offer were battle scars. Akane had protested throughout the examination, although little of her actual flesh was exposed.

Sohin was just thankful that there were battle scars to begin with. When one messed with the unknown, impossible things happened. He didn't know how he was going to explain missing scars and birth marks if they had disappeared. Ryouhei could have very well claimed that it was someone similar to Akane in appearance, but not necessarily her.

Sohin felt the beginnings of a headache. There were too many lies already. "She was half married to the Saotome heir." Which would explain the kiss to Ryouhei. Sohin wondered what he would tell an overprotective brother when he sees his sister kissing some unknown man. -- Especially since kissing was generally a prelude to other intimate moments. "Saotome was not raised around these parts, you know. It was just a kiss."

Sohin closed his eyes again, this was all he needed. Someone jealous over Akane's relationship with Ranma. Ryouhei interrupted his thoughts by saying, "You are her brother. You should be more offended."

"She's old enough to choose her men," Sohin pointed out. Then deciding that he did not want to talk about Akane and Ranma anymore, he shifted the subject. "Do you still wish to see her on the raised dais? Do you still wish her to rule?"

Stony silence answered him, and Sohin let it go. They needed all the help they could get when they returned to Sanuki, and Ryouhei was a powerful ally. Sohin raised his head to look at the sky. "I have never wanted Sanuki. I was too young to understand that kind of responsibility when I left her. I was too young to understand what keeping her meant."

"Then why return now?" Ryouhei demanded. "Why return at all?"

"I learned that Sanuki was never mine to give away." Sohin smiled as he saw his sisters approach. "I inherited the burden to protect her. Since Chisei is not worthy to keep her, it is my duty to retake her."

"You've been talking to Lord Ranma," Ifuku commented as she washed her hands in the river and then took the needle from the warm water. "I always sensed that you were more willing to stay than return. I guess I now know what changed your mind."

"The way he speaks, I rather thought it was because of Nabiki," Akane retorted as she doused Ryouhei's wound with sake. As soon as she sat back, Sohin deemed her worthy of a pinch in the ear. Akane glared at him.

"Children!" Ifuku reprimanded lightly as she prepared the needle and thread to stitch her patient.

"I'd rather have Setsuko-san do it," Ryouhei protested.

Ifuku frowned, her fingers stopping just before she pierced his flesh. She gave Akane a displeased frown. Akane was startled by it and when she finally realized what the frown meant, she exclaimed, "Oh -- oh! You mean me!"

Sohin gave Akane a half smile for the realization, as she clucked about trying to think of something to cover for the mishap. Thankfully, Ryouhei didn't seem to find anything wrong with the slip.

"I've seen her handiwork, Ryouhei-san. I would rather do it," Ifuku advised. Akane bristled a bit, but understood that Ifuku would be a better person for the task.

"You cannot disparage my lady in front of me, Ifuku-san," Ryouhei warned testily.

"Let him have his wish," Sohin declared, mild twinkle in his eyes. "He wants his precious lady so much. We could hardly keep her from him at their first moment together."

Ifuku frowned in disapproval but handed Akane the needle and thread, if a bit reluctant. Akane had already washed her hands, and took the proffered instruments from Ifuku. She trembled slightly as she took Ifuku's place near Ryouhei's left.

Sohin grinned widely. "Remember, Ryouhei, it's perfectly all right to scream." The taunt immediately made Ryouhei bite down on his lip to prevent such a thing from occurring, even though the wound was not large enough for a full blown scream.

Ifuku sighed as she settled beside Sohin. She held on to the fresh bandages made out of the towels found in the house, and boiled along with the needle and thread. "You do love to goad him, Sohin."

"Ahh, my dearest Ifuku, Ryouhei is the most incorrigible bastard this side of Japan." Sohin smiled brightly. Ryouhei grit his teeth in pain, barely managing a glare for Sohin. "We might as well land a few punches while he's down. You should always open the door when opportunity knocks."

Akane was too engrossed over the task to notice Sohin's insults. But Ifuku chided him lightly, "I never knew you were this sadistic."

The smile never left Sohin's face. "Ryouhei brings out the worst in me, I assure you."

* * *

Nabiki-kun had arrived at the samurai encampment when they were about to leave for the day. Luckily for her they had just been a few days' run away from the Suruga border. Hopefully, Ranma would be able to catch up the next day, but it depended on him finding the landmarks the samurai had left indicating the way they had passed. 

Dressed and garbed as Ranma, he nodded towards the vassals that greeted him good-morning and headed straight for Shampoo, whose bright violet hair was a shining signpost in the morning light.

Shampoo waved hello enthusiastically, already almost like her former bubbly self. Nabiki gave a half-hearted wave as she called out, "Where's Sei?"

"Shampoo not know. Hanae is over by the trees though," Shampoo towards an undergrowth of shrubs and trees just as Hanae stepped through with her guard. Mouthing her thanks to Shampoo, Nabiki walked up to Hanae tapping her on the shoulder lightly.

Hanae brightened up immediately and extended her arms for a hug. Nabiki sighed and lifted the girl up in her arms. Ranma spoils the children too much. "Hanae, where's Sei?"

"Didn't he ask permission for the assessment?" Hanae asked puzzled as she looked about. "Omokage-san went out with him."

Nabiki remembered Sei asking for permission, but hadn't expected Ranma would agree to the proposal without consulting her. Then again, at the time that Sei asked him, she had been out getting herself arrested and thought of as dead. Ranma probably thought it would be best if Sei wasn't around Kamakura to hear of his own mother's death.

"Yeah, I forgot," Nabiki mumbled half in irritation. Giving Sei permission for that trip wasn't the best of her decisions. But at least Ranma sent him Omokage. Omokage had been in charge of Rose Brier's security. Now that Rose Brier was not theirs to keep, Omokage had nothing to do since Nerima had a full staff. And his skill as a samurai was exemplary.

Although Sei was forbidden to learn more of the advance techniques because he was not a Saotome, he was permitted to train with some of the better samurai. And the assessment was coming up soon. Sei did not like mediocre performances.

Ruffling Hanae's hair a bit Nabiki leaned closer towards the child. "Well, thanks, Hanae-chan. I'll go and see to the other samurai now."

Hanae nodded, and Nabiki turned to look at the samurai who was in charge of leading the procession towards Nerima.

She signaled to him and he immediately broke off from what he was doing to talk to her, especially since she was impersonating Ranma for the moment. "What news is there of the Tendo samurai?"

"She's dehydrated, my lord, she probably won't last the trip," the samurai reported. Nabiki frowned. They would probably need to kill her. She had almost outlived her usefulness, and they did not need extra baggage on the trip. She didn't know how many other Tendo samurai were out in the area willing to risk their lives to retrieve her. "She's been slowing us down, we've had to rest almost every stick because of her. But then we have the household staff to worry about as well."

Most of the servants in Rose Brier had to be let go, because none of them would fit into the full staff of Nerima. They had probably brought those who would not be able to find employment elsewhere, which would mean the oldest of the staff and those that were most loyal. "Have three men guard her. If anyone tries to save her, kill her."

All the samurai in Rose Brier amounted to a little over sixty. A handful were still at the border, and would leave the checkpoints once the messengers reached them. Half of that had been sent for the Tendos, giving her thirty people to move.

Nabiki's head hurt, Sagami, their main province, had a weak spot in the middle filled with Kuno men, in the form of Kamakura. Although the Kunos were not enemies, they weren't exactly going to be allies once they learned she had killed Kodachi.

All the little cities in the province had enough samurai to call to arms if they needed to push back against Kamakura, but she didn't want to have to guard against something within her own borders. And they were virtually cut off from the Izu islands since they had been using Kamakura as a port for that particular fief.

She didn't want to think about that for the moment. They had to relocate into Nerima, discuss the changes with Ranma regarding their samurai allotment, and then report to Happosai at the same time confronting him with this problem.

Luckily Nerima was on the way to Musashi, Happosai's own province, where his donjon was. After the 'parade' settled in Nerima, it would only take a few days of running to get them to Musashi. Especially since they didn't have sixty or so people trailing after them.

'Politics. What an extremely messy principle,' Nabiki thought as she nodded to the samurai to inform the others to group together according to their shifts. She would deal with the politics after she understood who Ranma deemed worthy to come along with them in this little parade.

**

* * *

**

**Disclaimer: **Ranma co. were borrowed from the brilliant mind of Rumiko Takahashi. The original story was based on a book, _When there is Hope_.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

15661

I really have to get the timing to get to anyplace correctly --;

I have heard that to bike to Hokkaido and back to Tokyo takes an entire two months. (Of course, the source of that would be the manga _Honey & Clover_, and is to be taken with a grain of salt) but otherwise, I wouldn't really know how long travelling takes.

I have mentioned in chapter six though that Nerima takes 12 hours for Ranma to "jog" there and Yokohama three days for Nabiki to "walk" there. But you have to factor in that "jog" is faster than walk and walk would be slower with a prisoner and 30 samurai on your tail. All of the traveling to places gives me headaches because normally I would just gloss over how long it's taking (as it's too technical for story writing), but apparently if there are two parties sometimes it's unbelievable if the timing isn't right.

On other things, I have read some medieval fighting and I alloted Ranma too many soldiers on his field. I gave him a thousand to beat Chisei's regime when in fact, I would say that one keep would be equal to 100 samurai etc, so Ranma probably has around 200 - 300 (this all depends on how much grain of rice he has to feed his retainers, which is given to him by happosai). Meaning he probably spared the Tendos around half of that 150 which would still make moving difficult, but not as much as a thousand. Thousands of soldiers would equal kingdom fighting against kingdom. I'll correct this ASAP, but I just wanted to say it now (just so I don't forget in the near future).

My next story needs to be something that doesn't have research! Something light and fun and nothing with the abovementioned technical errors.

I'm a little bit sad because this sort of has the feel of almost ending. I feel like this is a slow goodbye which kind of hurts. I've lived with rend for all of my teenage life (thus the crappy 6-9 chapters which need heavy revision) that I feel like I don't want this to end... although stories must always end, it's the nature of a story.

Introducing a new character so late in the story is something that I didn't want to do. (I already wrote everything out with no new character and then suddenly this bodyguard appears and I have no idea what to do with him) But he seemed to be a necessary evil and thus Ryouhei appeared. Whether it's bad form or would do me more harm than good, I have yet to know.

I hope the name switches, Sohin/Eruchii Ifuku/Shori and Setsuko/Akane are not so confusing in this chapter, and I have tried to keep them all in the names that they are known with.

I think this chapter has veered of from the sad of the previous chapters (because Ranma-Akane had to part and Nabiki has to die) into more of bittersweet.

_Research for this chapter._

**Fishing** was researched, so the Ainu spear, the Ukai in Uji, they all really really exist.

The reason why Ranma says Ukai is more trouble than it's worth is becuase well you'll see if you search but for an overview... Ukai is traditional river fishing. Ukai is a sea cormorant (bird). The fishermen requires 3 people, and it must be at shallow water at night. Fishermen attract fish by fire and the Ukai (the cormorant birds) are sent out in the water to take the fish. The birds are on a leash and it requires a good deal of skill to prevent the leashes from untangling when the birds dive. This leash prevents the birds from swallowing the fish and forcing them to disgorge at the boat. Only a few people are allowed to practice this today.

I was going to research funerals, but Kodachi is Christian in this story, which... actually gives me trouble, and since I didn't really want to put a long winded story on how people hate Kodachi (as most of the readership of this fic actually know), I didn't put too much detail in her thing... Which reminds me, my sister was startled that Nabiki was Christian too, I guess it was too far back in the story for her to remember (and I guess for some other readers), but she was converted to Christianity because Happosai needed a spy in the Christian community as well as to get rid of her fiances. Same goes for Ranma, thus the entire spiel of her being accepted back into the fold of Buddhism here. However, now that I **really** think about it, she doesn't really need to be rebaptized Shinto or Buddhist, since Shintoism and Buddhism don't require active initiation (unlike Christianism in the form of babtism) and they don't demand exclusive rights to God, so I wouldn't know how to work it out.

I added a bit about the Kodachi being Christian in the funeral per JM's suggestion, I hope it flows better.

iCe

"Ahh, my dearest Ifuku, Ryouhei is the most incorrigible ass this side of Japan. We might as well land a few punches while he's down. I do love marking my victims."  
"I never knew you were this sadistic."  
iCe reads lines again. iCe groans, iCe now thinks Sohin sounds gay... iCe mourns the fact that she cannot think of the above banter as innocent anymore... iCe changes the script...

* * *

**website: **ice _dot _esmartdesign _dot _com : working thanks to Arthur Hansen  
**email**: siuane _at_ gmail _dot_ com  
**livejournal**: ice _underscore_ of _underscore _dreams 


	20. Part 19: February to March

**Revision Notes:**  
06/10/07 -- added honorific oniisama when Yuki refers to Eruchii  
12/25/06 -- Release date

* * *

**Special Thanks to:**  
Tin  
Ellen Kuhfeld  
Jourdan Bickham 

And to the person reading this.

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.

* * *

And mutual fear brings Peace,  
Till the selfish loves increase;  
Then Cruelty knits a snare,  
And spreads his baits with care.  
_The Human Abstract  
_**William Blake**

* * *

**Rendezvous with Fate v.3**  
by iCe  
Chapter 19

_...We were learning what it was to be together as a family while trying to cope with the fact that we were actually, a family..._

* * *

The slow movement of the sun across the horizon told Nabiki that they needed to camp soon. She looked half in irritation at the people entering Nerima. Nabiki never liked processions. They took longer than a normal trip and the welfare of the people under her needed to be tended to. If she had been alone, the entire Nerima trip could have taken two days at a leisurely pace, and one day at a hard pace. With all of the people and the things from Rose Brier that they needed to bring to Nerima, not to mention the prisoner, it had taken close to two weeks. It was exhausting. 

'Where the hell is Ranma?' Nabiki asked herself, rubbing her decidedly masculine arm. She steeled her fingers. Ranma would not appreciate it if his body looked girly in front of his people. 'He can't be lost. And he moves faster than this mishmash lot.' He sighed. 'Although he could have forgotten which road we were taking, or what symbols to look for or decided to goof around.'

He looked up at the sky and noted the low-lying clouds. It started mid-afternoon and was progressively becoming worse. There was no hint of blue in the sky; instead, it looked washed with white. He tucked an unruly strand of hair back behind his ear.

There was a storm brewing - he could feel it from the coldness in the air. The strong wind was blowing against the trees, making the tall and slender branches sway. A constant rustling of leaves accompanied the motion.

Cologne pogoed beside him, motioning towards Hanae who was beside her respective foster mother while Shampoo played with her. "Hanae seems to be used to the constant travel and her lessons impress me. Although Sei isn't here, I also think he has a great deal of potential. Will you let her go for the advanced training? The ten year training trip?"

Nabiki and Ranma had left when they had been merely six. Hanae, and Sei as well, were already past that age. "We will not have a choice in the matter if they are aptly skilled. However, my son is not allowed to learn anything more because he is more Ikkasei than Saotome, and Hanae will not learn because she is adopted."

"You do not believe that Saotome blood flows through her?" Cologne asked, more than a little bit curious.

"Do you?" Nabiki-kun asked back looking at the child closely. "I have always wondered if Ranma had been capable of sleeping around when he was married to Kodachi. In my heart I knew he wasn't... but when I saw Hanae -- I thought she was proof that he was capable of it. Lately though, I have not been sure."

"So even you do not know from where the girl came from?" Cologne murmured watching the child chase a butterfly. "I thought Ranma would tell you at least."

"She is Rian's daughter." Nabiki whirled around to face Ranma. He dropped from a nearby tree and grinned at Nabiki, dusting his shirt from his travel and bowed with respect to Cologne. "I promised to tell you, didn't I?"

"By you?" Nabiki-kun asked, although he knew the answer before Ranma could shake his head in negation.

"Hikome's," Ranma supplied looking at Hanae then turned to Cologne. "She's old enough to train with the Amazons. Would you train her? She wants to learn what Rian was taught."

Cologne raised an impeccable eyebrow then turned to the young girl. "She is an Amazon. But surely you won't leave the girl to me."

"It's for the best. Her mother wanted her to learn the Ways she has walked." Ranma nodded toward the girl. "She'll not learn much here. She's not my heir and Happosai knows that. I've given her all that I can. Now it's time to let her do what she wants."

Nabiki looked at Ranma and frowned. Now that Kodachi was out of his life, it meant he could easily take Hanae in with him, even train her. Sending her away would mean that he would keep no one close to him anymore.

Accepting her new charge, Cologne smiled. It was obvious that she was pleased she could train a young girl again. "She will be good for Shampoo as well. The ghost of Rian has haunted Shampoo since she has left for your country. If it is really the girl's wish to train under Amazons then it would be a pleasure to do so."

Ranma nodded towards the gates of Nerima, which were looming ahead. "We must hurry in, the weather will not hold for long." His words were emphasized by a strong gust of wind.

"We must get them all settled in the Nerima house with mother, before the storm hits." Nabiki-kun looked back from where Ranma came from and frowned. Nabiki-kun wondered how the Tendos would be doing if the strong winds met them on the open road. A few drops of rain fell on his nose and he frowned when she wiped them off. "Well then, I suggest we move."

* * *

Ryouhei normally did not mind walking in the rain. However, being soaked in it when the wind was howling like a misbehaving ghost was uncomfortable. Especially since he kept his clothes in the cloth bag that doubled as his blanket, and was now fully soaked. 

"A storm in the beginning of the year..." Akane muttered glaring at the low-lying clouds and the deep rumble of thunder she had heard. She had not seen lightning, so the storm clouds must still be relatively distant.

Ryouhei sensed that Akane wished she had worn pants. She had always been more practical than flashy, and the dress she now wore would be very difficult to clean.

"Unusual and ill-timed," Sohin commented as he walked the muddied road with long quick strides. "It is good we're near our destination."

Ryouhei winced slightly when he remembered Sohin's assault. It was some weeks since they left the Saotome safe house, but when they cut out the stitches, it had been painful nonetheless.

When Sohin and Ifuku insisted on leaving right after his stitches, Akane had objected. It was only through Sohin's repeated assurance that the wounds were minor that they had been able to assuage her fear of infection. It was emphasized by the fact that Ryouhei was able to walk freely.

He pressed the heel of his hand against the scar, but it was more to remind him of the pain that Sohin caused rather than staunch it. The wound had stopped being sore weeks ago. The stitches had been taken out just five days after the wound was sewn. "Are you all right?" Akane asked in mild concern.

"You should not worry about me overmuch, my lady," he reassured her. The puncture had been on his non-dominant arm. Even when the wound was fresh he could still maneuver it if needed.

Because of the rain, although Ryouhei noticed the gates that signaled the temple entrance, he had not been able to read the sign of which temple they visited. He was itching for a warm bath and dry clothes immediately, so he did not care overly much where he was. They were welcomed in warmly by the monks and were given blankets to wrap around themselves. The monks clearly knew Sohin, at least, and talked to him with ease.

"Houshi-sama, would you please tell me where Yuki-sama is?" Sohin

asked respectfully from one of the elder monks while he took off the muddy straw slippers by the entrance of the temple. "We bring news from the House of Tendo."

Even amidst people he clearly trusted, Sohin was careful about the Tendo secrets. And from what Ryouhei knew about Sohin after the agreed separation, he had hidden amongst these monks when he was younger. Ryouhei was unsure who knew of the heir's identity. Sohin called Yuki by an honorific, fully putting Sohin beneath the child's own status.

The monk smiled and welcomed him with the words, "When Yuki-sama was escorted here three months ago, we were worried. But the monks from Sagami did not know why you left Yuki-sama so suddenly. It was good that the young master knew that he should stay and hide here when you are in danger."

Ryouhei was aware that Sohin traveled almost constantly with the child for both the child's protection and his education, and it was also natural that they were regular temple visitors.

"I am fine, Houshi-sama, sorry for making you worry," Sohin reassured the monk. "I'm sorry that your monks had to travel so far."

'Far indeed,' Ryouhei thought. They were already two provinces west of Sagami, the province of Tutumi. They had been making good time, better time than their previous pace, as Akane had told him. Primarily the increase of speed was because they did not stop so often to try and find more straggling Tendo men.

Luckily, they were still inside Saotome territory. The Tendos had been living within Saotome lands for such a long time that Yuki was able to move freely within the Saotome borders.

"We have been waiting for your return, Sohin-san." The monk motioned towards the reception chamber, away from the whistling winds, and into warmer rooms. "I have asked someone to fetch Yuki-sama already."

Some apprentice monks handed them a change of stockings and a set of blankets to keep themselves warm. Others were already rummaging for spare clothes that they could wear while they waited for their clothes to dry.

The child came out of one of the small rooms as they moved towards the inner sanctum of the temple. As soon as the boy appeared, both Sohin and Ifuku bowed down low enough to kiss the ground. Ryouhei, who had not met the child, managed to look surprised before copying the Tendos.

Sohin and Ifuku might not be borne out of a legal wife, but this boy was the legal heir of Akane's uncle. Yuki had blood lines stronger than Akane herself.

Ryouhei might not have vowed allegiance to the Tendos, but this was the boy Akane had risked her life for. Still, he had not known that both Sohin and Ifuku showed this much deference to their younger cousin, especially since Sohin was rightfully liege.

Ryouhei glanced briefly at Akane. She had also bowed, but not as low as her two siblings. When she realized her mistake, she scrambled to imitate them.

"I think I told you to stop doing that Sohin-san," the boy's voice was light as he kneeled down to place his hand on Sohin's shoulder. Sohin looked up from the bow.

Ryouhei straightened to watch the interplay between the two 'heirs'. It also gave him a chance to gauge the boy. He had not met the boy when Akane had gone out to meet him. They had been too busy trying to fight for their lives back then. That had been the night that Akane had supposedly been killed by Ifuku.

When Akane had 'died', it had been near Rose Brier, on a rainy night, much like this one. They had approached the meeting place cautiously. Both Sohin and Ifuku had met Akane and him on the road.

As soon as they reached the temple where Yuki had been housed, they had been ambushed. Ifuku, Akane and he had been left to deal with the attackers. Sohin had left immediately.

That night, he had not understood why Sohin left his sisters to deal with five samurai. Now Ryouhei realized that Sohin had gone to hide Yuki. Ifuku and Akane had been left to assure Yuki's escape.

Ryouhei had managed to kill two, Ifuku managed to kill one. Sohin appeared to have killed the other two. Ryouhei and Ifuku had been left to bury Akane, and Ryouhei had remained in that town ever since.

Ryouhei briefly wondered what Akane would willingly risk her life for, as he looked at her cousin. Yuki's hair was cut severely over a delicate almost effeminate face, clear brown eyes that was unmistakably intelligent. He had his father's features and did not resemble the Tendo siblings. He did not look like he would suit to be a rough warrior nor a commanding liege.

From the way he carried himself, Ryouhei knew that the boy had been running away for far too long. There was a surprising proud tilt to the child's chin, showing an inner strength that earlier in their flight from Sanuki, Sohin's charge had lacked.

"Your wishes have come true, Yuki-chan," Sohin told him as he stood up, no longer the deferential vassal nor the child's loyal protector. He knelt because he was giving the last respectful nod to his cousin before he took what was his. Now, as he stood, he was no longer a peasant and was now claiming his full title as liege. Ryouhei sensed the change in Sohin's countenance as he straightened. "Your cousins have come to take your place. You are heir no longer."

The child closed his eyes, took a deep breath and then expelled it along with his worries before he smiled. "It is surely a relief to hear such news." He did seem to express genuine delight in the news because he did not want the initial title to begin with. Most heirs were spoiled little children waiting to claim their little kingdoms. Ryouhei supposed Yuki was different because he had not grown up as a pampered son of a nobleman, but as an orphan who moved from monastery to monastery. "And when am I to meet my cousins?"

It was then that the elderly monk intruded on their little gathering, maybe because it was more formal for a third person to do the introductions. "Yuki-sama, please let me do the honors of such an introduction."

The boy found it queer, especially since he expected that Sohin would take do the honors of introducing his long lost cousins. He nodded in assent though, eagerly awaiting the people who have come to call on him. The priest smiled and motioned to Akane first. "The youngest lady, Tendo Akane."

Yuki looked surprise at the introduction but bowed his head reverently before he looked up to face her. "I heard rumors of your demise, my lady. I am glad that you are safe."

"I am very honored to meet you, cousin," Akane said as she held out her hand to him, an odd gesture of welcome. The boy looked at the hand for a moment and Akane gave an embarrassed laugh as she reached out and took Yuki's hand between her own. "It's a greeting, our personal hello. Similar to the bow."

Ryouhei gave a small smile, Akane had always liked children and this was their first meeting. She always made children feel important in her presence.

The monk moved on to Ifuku. "My lady, Tendo Shori."

Yuki's eyes widened a little in surprise but still bowed in reverence to his older cousin. "I did not know you were so close to me, onee-sama."

From what Ryouhei understood when Akane was to visit him the first time, Sohin and the boy knew each other for a long time. Because of that and because Ifuku took on the mask of Sohin's wife, Ifuku must have been with the boy several times.

It could have been more difficult for the boy to accept because they knew each other closely, more than Akane and Yuki did. But Yuki did not brood over Ifuku's identity as he gave his newly found cousin a small hug.

"We are sorry to have deceived you, cousin," Ifuku confessed, bending low to look at Yuki eye to eye when he released her. "We feared for our lives."

"Then it is good news that you have changed your minds," Yuki said levelly, his smile still in place. "You must have gained a tactical advantage or you would not have come out of your hiding place. It has been a long time since you came of age to rule."

"I did not think that taking back our titles would be as easy as showing up in front of Lady Chisei's doorstep," Ifuku said ruefully, looking at her brother then back to Yuki. "She commands a great number of samurai who would willingly kill us. Our father's samurai have long since been discharged and turned into ronin by that woman. They're certainly old enough to be on the losing end against Chisei's own soldiers now."

"A sentiment that I have heard countless times from Sohin-san's lips. I am glad that Lady Chisei's doorstep will accommodate us now." He stepped back, a small gentleman. Sohin raised the boy well. Before the monk could speak yet again, Yuki said, "It is all right, I know who my last cousin is."

He moved towards Sohin and bowed as deeply as Sohin had bowed to him. "Lord Eruchii Tendo," he acknowledged his cousin with small admiration and more respect than one could have for someone that had just recently learned the truth. "I am pleased to learn that you will take your rightful place in the clan that my father has temporarily borrowed."

Sohin raised an eyebrow at the boy, though did not appear overly surprised that the boy knew his secret. "If you refuse to have me bow to you, Yuki-chan, you can't seriously expect me to ask bowing and scraping like that from you. I have been a merchant for twenty years, certainly enough time to wipe away the arrogance of wanting such things."

Yuki stood up quickly and grinned. "But you must have missed it, and I must have been the first to do so in twenty years."

Sohin was unsure what to say, so he said the thought that had been most prevalent after Yuki's obvious knowledge of his identity. "How long have you known who I was?"

"For more than a year, I suppose. I have never been sure, of course," Yuki answered formally, creasing his brow in concentration. "You bear traits similar to those of Tendo men, but not features. You know things about the Tendo premises that could not have come from casual observation of the lay of the land, but are far removed from the clan. And most of all, I feel from you the love for Sanuki every time I hear you tell me stories, but you do not return with me when I am given a small glimpse of it. It must be frustrating to be heir yet be so far from your own land."

"I'm sure you've shared an equal ordeal," Sohin answered, for the boy only visited Sanuki on the summers that Chisei permitted him to. "Do you think I would do a better job of ruling than yourself or Chisei?"

"Self-confidence has never been big on us Tendos has it?" Yuki asked a smile lingering on his face. "I believe you are far better than what Chisei could selfishly offer, and more capable than a seven-year-old boy. You don't need my approval. I am your cousin and I am your vassal."

Although it was true that Sohin had not needed his younger cousin's support, it was apparent that Sohin had wished to gain it. It also meant a significant number of samurai from that side of the family, more than Sohin had currently.

"You must come to live with us after this is over, Yuki-sama." Ifuku said extending her invitation to their ward. "We have grown terribly fond of you and will miss you if you do not go with us."

"I plan to ride with you to Lady Chisei's stronghold," Yuki declared, and looked as if he had never thought otherwise. "You have been gone more than twenty years. My presence would surely establish who you are. Though you are officially liege lord, it would help if the heir they acknowledge rides with you."

"If there is no swaying you otherwise," Sohin murmured as he met the boy eye to eye. He offered his hand to Yuki. "I would be happy for you to ride with us."

* * *

As soon as their samurai from Kamakura had been given temporary assignments in Nerima, Ranma and Nabiki had left their central fief for Musashi. They reached Happosai's capital in the one week travel allotment that they had set for themselves. 

Ranma looked up the long winding road that led to Happosai's donjon and was filled with deep dread of what they were about to do. He understood that there had always been struggles in the past, that there had always been resentment, but they had never acted against their liege. At least, no acts so large as the both of them demanding their rights.

To his knowledge, no one had ever had the nerve to challenge Happosai over the way he ruled. Not since he publicly flogged and killed the family of the last one who tried.

As they moved from the pathway to the outer parts of the fortress, the worry did not abate. Although no samurai stopped their ascent, he felt that they have been moving too easily towards the inner donjon. Not that any of the samurai had reason to distrust them. They were hatamoto, banner supporters to Happosai. Ranma was a Tozama, an Outside Lord. The rank was only directly under Happosai's own of Kokushiu, a Lord of the Province. They were not questioned.

They had moved in those halls since they were children. They moved through them now, silently and purposefully. When they reached the double doors that led to the chambers where Happosai received his vassals, Ranma took a step back.

"Trouble, brother?" Nabiki asked as she noticed him taking one breath for courage. "Do you wish to continue?"

"We've come to a point where we can do nothing but go forward, Nabiki," Ranma answered softly. He inclined his head towards the two guards stationed by the doors. Addressing them he requested, "We'd rather come unannounced."

"Lord Happosai has just concluded a meeting. You're just in time to see the daimyos," one guard informed them as the other opened the door and entered preceding them. Though Ranma had expressed his dislike for the barking out of names, the guard ignored it. Happosai demanded protocol and Ranma had not expected the guard to follow his wishes.

When they entered, Happosai gave their herald a haughty dismissal. Though he stood just a little over three feet, his imperial wave still commanded attention. He held power that none of the other samurai had wielded. He started the Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu. He was the root of the entire Saotome Clan.

He looked surprised to see the two of them. The daimyo that Happosai had been meeting with had not yet been dismissed, although it was obvious from their relaxed manner that the meeting was over. "What gives me the pleasure of your surprise visit?" Happosai inquired.

Ranma opened his mouth to speak, but Nabiki stilled him with a soft brush of her hand. She began, "Kodachi is dead, my lord." There was a pause, just to make sure that he heard her loudly and clearly in the large audience hall. Ranma winced, he would not have chosen those as the first words to greet Happosai. It effectively caught the attention of every single samurai present as well. "I killed her."

Happosai raised an eyebrow at that, hopping down from his elevated position and moving towards the Nabiki. "Impressive, child. You have actually learned to talk back since the time you returned from the Ikkasei's."

"We've served your house for our entire lives," Ranma said, cutting Nabiki's reply to the obvious challenge that Happosai laid down. "We were hoping that you would have given us enough respect to leave ourselves to our own devices."

Happosai's attention swiveled to the other sibling. His eyes narrowing he shook his head. "Is this what this is all about? I have never seen the two of you standing together for such a paltry issue. I am your **liege**, you will do as I command. If I see it fit to have you killed, I will."

This was the reason why he hadn't wanted Akane with them. Happosai just might sign his death warrant. Ranma suddenly realized that he did not understand why they were standing before Happosai either. They did not plan to take leadership from him, and they did not plan to kill him, the only two reasons that would have mattered.

Happosai may be wrong, he may be a lecherous pervert and he might be **worse** than that, but Saotomes were his playthings. He owned them. Confronting him because he played around with their lives like a chessboard did not suddenly give them the leeway to be right, because Happosai had the power to be **right** even though he wasn't.

"Kodachi was working for you. She was working for you the entire time that she tried to ruin us," Nabiki accused her eyes focused on their liege. "What would destroying us have done for you? Our only loyalties are with you. You have never questioned that."

Happosai eyed them critically before moving towards his small throne again. He sat down slowly before considering them both. "I trust no one, even you who have worked for me since birth. Trust ruins empires."

"What have we ever done to receive such special hate from you?" Ranma asked bitterly, stepping forward. "We have done everything you've ever asked of us. We've done your dirty work even when we didn't want to, and cleaned up after things you didn't want to be aired in public. Setting Kodachi after us has been your elaborate plan for the better part of the decade. We're not useful anymore, are we?"

Ranma sensed the unrest between the other clan heads gathered there. The twins were the focal point of Saotome politics because they were heirs, because Ranma was the best fighter the clan has produced in decades and because Nabiki had political skills enough to a good number of them. A move as strong as this would definitely change the political undercurrents in Saotome land.

"Ten years ago you would have not shown me this much disrespect!"

Happosai thundered. They had been the most obedient of his vassals, the most willing to do anything in order for the advancement of the art and the survival of the clan.

Clearing her throat Nabiki stepped towards her brother and laid a hand on his shoulder. "No, brother, it's not hate that Happosai has for us. It's fear. He fears what we will become one day and what he has become now." She looked at the old man pointedly. "You know that one day the student will surpass the teacher, don't you? Talk has been going about for years that Ranma would take your place as liege."

There was a surprised gasp from one of the other daimyos. They did not think that Nabiki would have the audacity to speak that frankly.

"That idiot will never become more than he is now," Happosai announced, pointing at Ranma. "He will **never** become liege."

"Here's news for you old man: I've never wanted to be liege. I was a born fighter, never a ruler," Ranma spat out as he motioned at the large hall. "Why take all of this and grow to a hundred just to become as paranoid as you are?"

"Because, my boy, your sister has always been power hungry," Happosai answered him, smiling. Nabiki had her jaw set on a frown. "Don't deny it. You've always dreamt of having all of this."

"If I take the clan it'll be because **you** are an inept leader and not because I've dreamt of wielding it." Nabiki shook her head. "I could not stand the fact that you move us like pawns on your shogi board, waiting for us all to die while you use our blood to water the altar of power."

"I don't want the clan," Ranma affirmed. "I may be heir but you can have the Saotome lands. I've trained because martial arts has been my life-blood. I've served you because that's been all that I am and all that I've known. I'm a Saotome Samurai and you shouldn't have ordered us destroyed."

"What would you do? Take the clan away from me?" he scoffed, as if it was the least of his worries. "You're too young to take it from my hands."

"I have enough troubles with Sagami already," Ranma muttered shaking his head. "But I will move. I'll not take your vassals or your fiefs but I cannot serve you anymore, my lord."

"Your pride will not let you, Ranma?" Happosai laughed. "Your pride is the least of my worries. Very well. You can move. You can take all of Nerima with you. But your mother remains here, with me."

Ranma looked up sharply at Happosai. It was common practice to keep either wives or close loved ones in the liege lord's stronghold to secure loyalty. "You could not even trust me this much?"

"Have you not been listening?" Happosai asked arching his eyebrows at the two of them. "I do not trust anyone. Even my own hatamoto."

"I'll leave your lands as soon as I can," Ranma answered. He was not carrying his sword because protocol demanded they bring no weapons inside the receiving hall, but he did lay down the letter entrusting Nerima to him. It was what marked him as daimyo, his symbol of power. "I've always been a wanderer, and though Sagami has been a place for me to rest for a while, my soul yearns to stray."

"I will leave with him, my lord. I shall have to take care of my brother," Nabiki said in a move of solidarity and support. She closed her eyes before whispering to him, "Wanderers tend to wander back towards home, brother."

"As will I." Ranma swiveled around to look at one of his cousins, a daimyo that had been standing towards his left. Another followed with, "I will leave with Lord Ranma as well, my lord."

One by one most of the samurai stepped forward to proclaiming their intent to join Ranma. It looked like there would have been another chorus of round about "me too's" that Happosai snapped his fingers commanding silence. "It seems that my vassals are not willing to let you leave casually," Happosai observed.

"You cannot simply wander around Japan with half of the entire clan trailing behind you, you know," Nabiki mentioned. She smiled a little. "You do know that if you wished you could take Happosai down now. With this much support, hell, you could win."

"I detest taking Happosai on," Ranma murmured swiveling back to face Happosai. "They can't all leave. We can't leave the borders alone to the Kunos, or to anyone happy enough to take our land because of an internal feud."

Happosai's eyes turned to Nabiki. "It's very astute of Ranma to mention that we would be vulnerable in case this many samurai leave my domain. And you Nabiki, what of your decision?"

"I have always been beside my brother. Nothing will change that fact. Not even if I disagree with the choices he makes." She stood there solidly behind him, whether he took the opportunity of a lifetime to take Happosai down, or left it. "It's a pity you never understood that."

"I own you, Nabiki Ikkasei. You were mere ronin before you were reinstated into the clan," Happosai pronounced holding on to the last strings of hope he had left.

Nabiki raised an eyebrow, and in the coolest voice she said, "I don't owe you anything, my lord. You were **paid** to get me back. It was never a personal favor to me. And if you weren't Ranma's liege then I wouldn't really owe you anything, would I?"

"The future really does have a way of arriving unannounced, doesn't it?" The question hung in the air for a while, the hall eerily silent, as if all stopped breathing to hear the verdict Happosai would pronounce. Then finally, Happosai nodded slightly at the two of them. "Very well, I will not meddle in your affairs any longer. You could stay in Nerima. If you win against me."

"I did not come here to fight," Ranma said uneasily as Happosai took off the outer garments of the ceremonial robes he wore. "I just wanted to be granted the peace that I thought I had."

"Things that matter are always difficult to attain, aren't they?" Happosai said. "Your pride would not let you go, Ranma. It is your nature."

"Well, this isn't about pride anymore," Ranma countered, his first act of disobedience against Happosai since his birth. "I have fulfilled your wishes, protected Nerima, married Kodachi and never have I raised my sword against you. I will not do so now."

And for the first time in his entire life, Ranma Saotome turned his back against a challenge and disobeyed his liege.

It was a moment surprisingly robbed of its poignancy.

Nabiki gave one last mocking bow towards Happosai then followed her brother out of the doors.

* * *

Sohin shielded his eyes from the rain, keeping the coat made of rushes around his body tightly to ward off the rain and looking at the small entourage that made up his party. Two sisters, one small cousin and a bodyguard. Not much for someone wanting to overthrow an entire army. 

Ifuku was carrying Yuki in her arms shielding the young child from the rain while trying to keep up with the pace he was setting. Storms in the first month. They were shivering from the cold, gusty wind, but there was little else they could do. They had been postponing this for far too long.

"My Lord's house is not much further," Sohin told them. The rain made the roads muddy and vision poor, hampering their progress. "It's lucky for us that most of the exiled Tendos migrated up here."

"They certainly couldn't stay on that little island where Chisei was," Ifuku said tersely. "I would think she'd ferret out every single one and have them executed. She may not be the most powerful on that island but she knows how to exert pressure on those around her."

Before Akane could find words to reply, two horses drew up in front of them: samurai from the household that they were going to visit. "I need to speak with my uncle at once," Yuki said, while he uncovered his face to allow the samurai to identify his features.

"My lord, your uncle will gladly accept you on this occasion," one of the samurai answered as the other rode forward to announce them in the household. Dismounting from the horse, a rare sight since horses were generally not allowed to samurai, he offered the stallion to Yuki and Ifuku.

Hesitating, Yuki looked for confirmation from Sohin. Sohin misunderstood Yuki's look as one for permission to ride, but he had been mistaken. Yuki had looked at him to confirm his identity in Tendo ranks. "I would not ride above my cousin Eruchii-oniisama, please."

The samurai stopped for a moment to comprehend the words. With the Tendo children a living legend amongst every Tendo household, it was a shock to find out that the heir was finally appearing. "I'm sorry for not recognizing you earlier, my lord," the samurai stuttered to Sohin.

Sohin waved away the formality. Though it seemed far, truly the house had just been a few yards away and other horses were lent to them to aid in their visit. Word spread fast on who the visitors were, and they were not only treated with respect but a little awe. Sohin had to murmur his slight discomfort to Ifuku at the entire ordeal.

Before she could respond however, they were forced to stop in front of the gates of the main house and dismounted automatically. Mitsuo was waiting for them at the gates, uncommon for someone of great importance.

It was Yuki who was first to take off the coat of rushes and the broad hat that shielded his face as he went up to the uncle he visited once a year with his caretaker. Though Sohin had been with Yuki at all times he was never permitted to see the old Mitsuo. So it was with a little apprehension and a good deal of curiosity that he watched his uncle greet his cousin.

"You've weathered a storm to see me, young one," his voice was steady and did not betray his age. "You should not have risked the storm just for your New Year's gift."

"I do not think you could have waited for **my** otoshi-dama, uncle." The otoshi-dama was the New Year's gift customarily given to children, so at the mention of this, Mitsuo raised his eyebrow in merriment. "Meet my cousins, Uncle Mitsuo."

Mitsuo's eyes slowly reverted to the four at his doorstep, still not crossing the threshold towards the house. He slowly went to them revealing that he had a limp and was relying heavily on his right leg and a cane to walk. He motioned for the three to move forward. "Come closer to the light and shelter, children. You are welcome in my household."

Peeling away the wet reeds before they stepped into the immaculate tatami and putting away the hat, it was Sohin who bowed first. "Uncle Mitsuo, we meet at last."

The old man stopped at the words and shook his head. "It certainly took you children long enough to seek me out." He motioned for his wife to hand them over fresh clothes. "I'll wait for you in my room. I trust you remember where it is, Yuki-sama? Please lead the Eruchii-sama to it. I would like to speak to him alone for the moment."

Though Sohin did not want to waste more time than was necessary, he permitted a change of clothes and a quick bath. As soon as he was presentable, he bid the maids cease their preparations, waved goodbye to his sisters, and motioned for Yuki to lead them towards the meeting place.

Mitsuo looked complacent in his room with a calligraphy brush trying to create the perfect circle, very much the old daimyo that he was. Though he did not control land that he once did in Sanuki, Mitsuo managed to live in a small property with a handful of loyal samurai.

He looked up from his papers, putting his brush down gently. "Yuki-chan, could I speak to your cousin alone for awhile?" Yuki bowed before leaving with one of the maids at the entrance. Mitsuo patted a long pine box beside him. From its appearance, it had been taken out of hiding just recently. "You came for this. I thought its hiding place would die with me, young Tendo."

"I thought people had given up searching for their myths," Sohin admitted solemnly, his head bowed in silent respect for the wishes that had asked him to return.

"I have never given up wishing for your return," Mitsuo countered. "If I had not feared that any probe for your whereabouts would bring Chisei, I would have tried to find you. I have too few resources, and too large a fear, that I never tried; but I have never given up hope that you would find your way home."

There was sadness in that, because they had been missing for many years, because they had been too weak to return. But there was happiness too, because they were finally returning. And the happiness was all the stronger because of the sadness. "I am glad that I am able to return as well."

The two men stayed silent, because both knew that after this moment, their lives would change. They could not say what the outcome of the change would be, but there would be change, and they both acknowledged its arrival. Finally, Mitsuo noted, "Boy, you remind me of your father. He was my cousin if you recall."

"I thought I evaded being caught because I didn't look like my father," Sohin answered, startled.

"No. You misunderstood. You have too much of your mother's beauty in your face to take on the harsh angles of your father's frame. But you have the same air about you. Fierce passion and quiet regret." There was no criticism in the tone, just an observation. "You are no doubt your father's son."

"I don't even understand why Chisei wants me dead. I am useless as a liege, powerless as a daimyo and helpless as a man. There are more daimyo surrounding the borders of Sanuki," Sohin muttered under his breath. "She could have larger land and richer fiefs for less trouble."

Mitsuo looked startled and dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "I don't know what I should address first, insecurity or misconception." When Sohin didn't speak up Mitsuo straightened. "Eruchii-sama, you do not hold just a small parcel of land. Sanuki is your stronghold, but you hold four more provinces to your name. You hold the island of Awaji including the land of Awa, Tosa and Iyo."

Sohin wasn't able to speak for the sheer enormity of it. He had been away since he was child so he only understood a part of his responsibility. He had been reared as an heir to Sanuki because he was the first son, his father had probably held on to the thought of having a legal heir for the entirety of his lands. Mitsuo made sure Sohin understood the ramifications by saying, "Eruchii-sama, you hold the entire Narikaido, the entire south sea way." He pushed the bundle forward. "Open it."

Sohin obeyed as he unknotted the twine that protectively sealed the gift with nerveless fingers. When he got past the outer layer he unfurled the lengthwise cloth, eyes widening at the long banner. His hands involuntarily moved towards the symmetrical fan stenciled into the cloth. It was designed with half circles and filled with geometrical lines up to the base. He gave his respects to the god of war which resided in the flag before he scrutinized the seal. "I thought I would never see the family seal again."

Mitsuo snorted. "You will once you get back to Sanuki. Chisei has it sewn on every dress, every fan that she has."

"That has never been a problem," Sohin answered. He lifted out the sword that was nestled amidst the banner, drawing it against the light of the torches, admiring its blade. His father's sword. It was well cared for.

Mitsuo watched Sohin with the sword and nodded appreciatively. "The sword fits your hand, Lord Tendo. Its blade has been waiting for you to sharpen it against the whetstone of Chisei's rule.

"Narikaido will fall into Tendo hands once again," Mitsuo murmured as Sohin installed the blade against his side. The mark of the father, finally finding its way to his son.

-

After Yuki had lead Sohin to their uncle, Yuki had proposed that they all take another soak in the bath. He had reasoned that they had been too rushed to take a proper soak. Ifuku laughed at the small proclamation, but had decided to keep him in her sights, and Akane had declined.

Akane looked around the room. For someone in exile, Tendo Mitsuo seemed to be living a settled lifestyle.

Ryouhei noticed her apparent awe of the room and explained, "Mitsuo-sama was merely exiled, Akane-san. He wasn't hunted like the three of you for dead. And the Saotomes had previous dealings with Tendos in the past."

"What do you mean?" Akane asked as she started airing out the clothes that were soaked by the rain. She hadn't brought much with her, just one dress and one of the mannish clothes for disguise.

Ryouhei unhooked his sword from his belt, setting it down beside him as he sat. "Your father had been apprenticed to someone before he became liege. I believe he was with a Saotome. However, his father had died at a young age and the training was terminated. The Sagami daimyo did not know of it because it was at a time before him, but before your generation Saotome and Tendo always had strong ties."

"Then why didn't we seek their help?"

Ryouhei sighed. "When you were exiled at all of five summers, the Saotome daimyo whom your sire was close to, a Genma Saotome, had already been cast out by Lord Happosai. We could not gather support from that. Mitsuo-sama was allowed a handful of samurai and money. He had paid the Saotome liege for sanctuary. We had nothing but the clothes on our back."

Akane sighed before she nodded, there were too many political intrigues revolving around the Tendo clan. She could not even remember half of who she was supposed to be.

Standing up she approached Ryouhei as he unsheathed his sword. "Come, let me look at that wound of yours."

He looked appalled that she suggested it, a protective hand hovering over the wound over his shoulder. "My lady, it does not pain me."

"Well, we'd better change the bandage regardless," Akane urged, kneeling down in front of Ryouhei and tapping his obtrusive hand. "The faster we finish this, the sooner you get better, the less and less time between check ups."

He resignedly gave up as he pushed down the sleeve of his shirt to reveal the bandaged wound. Akane took out the bandage. It was soaked through because of the rain, and Ryouhei had only deemed his clothes worthy of change. She examined the wound closely, there was a scar, but it didn't need the bandage anymore. "I wish for the speedy invention of the Band-Aid," Akane muttered. "And maybe gauze and antiseptic."

Ryouhei just gave her a bewildered stare. Akane shook her head as took away the dressing. "You won't need it anymore. It's completely healed. Ryouhei-san, how long have we been together?"

"I was chosen by my lady's grandfather to be my lady's bodyguard." Akane's brows knit as she applied the ointment Ifuku had mixed to lessen the scarring. She wondered over his words. He had probably been a little over ten. "I came over with one older samurai who was to be your official guard until I turned fifteen. He returned to your grandfather soon after. "

Akane raised her eyebrows in surprise as she moved her attention to the exit wound on his back. She pulled more of his shirt off to apply the salve before saying, "I thought my mother was disowned. Love match and all."

"Your grandfather really did love your mother -- it was just that to give her the freedom she wanted, he had to disown her." He was about to give another shrug, when Akane held his shoulder in place. "Sorry, Sohin really did poke holes into me."

She patted his back, signaling the end of her ministrations and then pulled his shirt down to cover him. She gathered the ointment and wrapped it in Ifuku's furoshiki before turning her attention to her things.

"Akane-san, I am very grateful that you're alive," Ryouhei murmured.

It was the first time they had been alone together. Most of the time, they had the buffer of Sohin, Ifuku and later on Yuki between them. They had hardly talked except for the normal pleasantries. Ryouhei seemed to be a private man.

Akane turned around to face him. "Ryou--" she faltered. Other than the fact that he could actually find his way in the house, he looked very much like Ryoga. "-san, I am very grateful that I'm still alive as well."

If he objected to the shortening of the name, or if it was unusual, he didn't comment on it. Silence fell again. Akane shifted uneasily. What had Ranma been thinking when he thrust her back to her ancestor's life? She wasn't the Akane that this man knew.

Well at least she could find out who he was. She packed up the things that could be packed and settled to sit in front of him, waiting to be called for the dinner one of the maids promised.

"You don't talk too much, do you?" Akane observed, tilting her head to the side. "You're like him."

"Like Saotome?" he asked sullenly.

Akane laughed at the thought of Ranma brooding. Ranma hardly ever moped around the house, and when he did he certainly wasn't silent about it. She wondered what gave Ryouhei the idea. She reached out and touched his face. "No, you are like Ryo--"

He flinched, moving his face away. She dropped her hand and stopped in mid-sentence. She should have known better than to tell him he reminded her of someone else. She should have remained silent, especially when Ranma already told him about Ryoga.

She threw her hands around him, nestling her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I miss home unbearably, and you remind me of it."

"Sohin already told me that you've lost part of your memories." He clenched his fist in obvious anger. "This is what Ifuku has stripped from you."

Akane noticed wryly that though he was always respectful with her, it did not extend to either of her siblings. She stepped back from him. "None of this is their fault. They've been kind with me."

"Ifuku missed the goddamned spot!" He brought his hand a little lower than her left collarbone rubbing the scar under the yukata. She hadn't noticed it before Ryouhei demanded to see proof that she was who she claimed. It was an almost identical mark to his own scar. "When we killed those samurai, you were barely breathing!"

From what she understood, Ifuku was supposed to have hit her more on the periphery, much like the scars that Sohin bestowed Ryouhei. Akane frowned at the accusation testily. Ifuku wasn't meant to wield the sword. She had been a maid for some twenty years. "Don't talk about Ifuku that way!"

"She sacrificed you to protect that boy!" It was an unacceptable move in Ryouhei's eyes. "You came to meet him and she killed you for it."

Anger glinted in Akane's eyes. She might not understand why Ifuku struck such a blow, but Ifuku had Akane's loyalty. She wasn't going to turn against her own sister. "If you hate my sister so, then why did you come with us? Why not just leave us alone?"

"That is an interesting question," a voice stated from the doorway. Akane turned to see Sohin, carrying Yuki, who seemed to be sitting on his arms. Apparently, Sohin had passed by the furo, knowing Yuki would want another round of soaking. Ifuku was slightly behind them, worried expression on her face. Ryouhei made some inarticulate protests before Ifuku raised an eyebrow. Sohin sighed before he continued, "She's not going to get subtle hints and you were never going to say it."

"Sohin, if you must torture him, you should not try subtlety. It does not work with oblivious people," Ifuku commented.

Sohin shrugged as he let Yuki down. "We can't try hitting them with a blunt object. Look at what hitting them with a sharp one accomplished." Akane stared blankly at the by-play, wondering what was going on. Sohin gave a pointed look to Ifuku. Ryouhei settled for another sullen glare. "See?" Sohin asked pointedly.

Ifuku threw up her hands exasperatedly as a serving girl entered, laying down trays in front of them. The maid left them to fetch the food. While they were waiting, Ifuku nodded towards the sword Sohin removed from his waist. "Now that you have father's sword, what are you to do about that one?"

Akane noticed that Sohin's hand went around the discarded sword protectively. She settled herself in front of her tray and gave a questioning gaze to Ifuku. Ifuku shook her head.

"It's mine," Sohin said possessively. His grip on it tightened.

"We could sell it," Ryouhei suggested. "We're bound to need coin when traveling to Sanuki."

"I told you it was mine. You are not touching the sword." There was an icy quality to Sohin's voice, one that Akane had not heard in the short time that she had been with the Tendos. Yuki shifted uncomfortably and Ryouhei immediately decided on the wise thing to say -- nothing.

A maid entered and broke the tense atmosphere. Ifuku sighed.

'Well,' Akane thought. 'Welcome to my family.'

* * *

One month after settling the samurai into Nerima, no orders from Happosai and suddenly relieved of the border patrols, Ranma found the sudden free time disconcerting. 

With Hanae training with Cologne and Sei off of his care preparing for his year long training trip, Ranma's days were filled with the monotonous drills for the samurai and routine daimyo duties.

It was easy to sense his restlessness. He was used to managing two estates side by side along with whatever hatamoto duties Happosai would indulge in. The sudden change was bound to make anyone as active as Ranma yearn for some action. Peace and quiet did not go well with his personality.

Not to mention the fact that Ranma never showed or admitted his worry for the entire Tendo ordeal that he had pledged his support to.

Nabiki decided that she had to force the matter, or Ranma would not acknowledge it's presence at all in his life. She sought him out. Predictably, he was in the gardens beating a wooden stick driven in the middle of the ground.

She watched for a while, comfortable in the knowledge that they knew both were present, admiring his single-handed determination to splinter the hard wood and not bloody his knuckles. In mid-strike she asked incredulously, "Aren't you worried about them?" breaking their unspoken rule of silence about the Tendos. "Don't you miss her?"

The question hung in the air for a moment, unanswered. He stopped the fisted hand before hitting, immediately to look into her eyes. She thought he wouldn't answer the question because they stood facing each other for an inordinate amount of time. But he surprised her.

"I miss her so much that I'm afraid I'll drop everything here just to find her." He left that explosive comment in the air, and abruptly left the garden to think.

Nabiki stared after her brother in small wonder and more than a little bit of speculation. She narrowed her eyes at his retreating form. 'I have to get him to the Tendo stronghold,' she thought absentmindedly.

There was little option left for her to enact that particular plan. Ranma would not want to be forced into doing something he had already decided not to do. He would not do it for himself, and he would not do it even after a beating. He would not fight her for a bet like that, and there was little chance of her winning against him anyway. He never threw fights to save face, so that was out of the question.

Which left her to try and cajole Ranma into Sanuki by the only means she knew how: emotional blackmail. He would be angry when he found out, and he would be extremely resistant if it seemed like a plot to gain him something, but he would agree as a favor to her. If worded carefully and the setting was right.

"Besides, dearest brother, you're getting to be too much of an ogre locked in Nerima, and Sanuki seems to be the perfect remedy," Nabiki mulled to herself as she prepared for a grand plan of action.

* * *

The border of the Saotome land was marked with a checkpoint, a seki. Traveling along Saotome land had proved surprisingly easy with the directions that Ranma had given Sohin and the missive that contained Ranma's hanko explaining that he was to be let through the seki. 

They had passed through three other provinces in the past month to reach the end of Saotome territory located at Owari. Although the travel was harsh, his uncle's horses had shortened the journey to a little over four weeks.

As Ranma had promised men were stationed at Owari waiting for him. Kumon Ryu had immediately introduced himself, saying it was more of a personal favor to Nabiki than Ranma's own that he was with the men. But before they talked, he had ushered Sohin to a small makeshift tent and presented a young boy to him.

"I thought we were going to talk about moving through Ise and Kii," Sohin asked as he knit his brow. "What were you thinking bringing a boy along to war?"

"It wasn't my idea to bring him along. He kind of snuck in," Ryu answered ruefully. "And it's not like you don't have a boy with you as well."

"That's different. That boy is my only ticket to Sanuki territory without bloodshed," Sohin explained, perplexed. He didn't want to bring Yuki along either, but he had little choice in the matter.

"Well think of him as your ticket to entering Ise territory," Ryu said choosing to imitate his earlier words. The boy just listened to the two of them without interrupting. "Eruchii-sama, may I present to you, Saotome-noh-Sei."

"I think, for me to fulfill the role of being a 'ticket', I might as well use the name I was born with, Kumon-san," the boy corrected as he approached the two men. "I am Ikkasei-noh-Sei. My father is daimyo of Ise."

Sohin froze in place as he regarded the young boy. They hadn't met in the short time that he had spent in Sanuki, but he had been still with his mother when he left Rose Brier. "You don't have to look like that. I know my name is awful, but my father has a thing for rhymes. I match my last name and the city. Imagine: Ikkasei-noh-Sei daimyo of Ise. People are going to fall down laughing before they take me seriously. That or make a grand tongue twister."

Sohin opened his mouth several times. That wasn't what he was going to point out, but now he didn't know if he was going to laugh or simply be stunned into silence.

Sohin had been told by Ifuku that the boy was known to be silent and seemed to lack humor, but Sohin had revised his impression on sight. Sei was mostly sarcastic, his jokes told with a straight face that made you wonder if he was serious or not, and was rigid to a fault. If his face grew any sterner, Sohin would have sworn he was turning thirty years older.

"It was a joke, Tendo-sama," he reassured Sohin before turning to Ryu. "All of the men my mother has associated with simply lack humor."

This time it was Ryu who seemed embarrassed. Then realization hit as he glared at Sohin. Sei closed his eyes in exasperation. "I can't be the grown up for the two of you. My mother had a total of one hundred seventy six fiancés accumulated over the span of ten years with Genma-san. She pretended to be courtesan to twelve men. She has kissed a total of four times. Three of which were an Amazon promise of death.

"I can't have you squabbling over my mother if you're expecting me to talk to my father to give us safe passage. My father thinks my mother is **dead**." Sei took a deep breath and opened the tent flap to leave. "I'll talk to the two of you when you're thinking of battle and not something else."

Ryu and Sohin looked at each other flabbergasted. It was Sohin who spoke up first. "How old is that kid? He can't be more than ten."

Ryu groaned. "I think thirty nine is more accurate. I thought he was going to enumerate the times she had sex too."

Sohin did not want to dwell on that particular thought. "What was Nabiki **thinking** telling him that kind of information?"

"Actually it was my foster mother. She's a delightful little gossip, with more tongue than brain," Sei called from the outside of the tent.

The two men yelped. "I can hear you, you know. Tents are hardly soundproof," Sei added in a serious stern voice. Sohin sighed. If you could not see him, Sei sounded almost like a twenty year old woman lecturing her wards.

He groaned. How the hell would they survive this?

-

"Sei, what are you doing here?" Akane gasped as she knelt down in front of the boy.

The boy smiled ruefully, motioning towards the Saotome soldiers. "Uhh, would you believe me if I told you I was leading an army to battle?" The stern look in Akane's eyes said otherwise. He blew at his bangs, making it flutter against his forehead. "You're going to cross over to my father's territory after that body of water. I wanted to talk to him."

Akane digested two things at once. One was that Sei's father was still very much alive. The second was that they were going to do it after what appeared to be months of separation, maybe more. "Where's Nabiki?"

"My father kind of doesn't know my mother still exists," Sei said slowly. He waved towards the tent. "Thus the rather large complication of men trying to marry her, her son who's trying to remain with her and a brother who's trying to keep her alive."

"And you're talking to him?" Akane asked, trying to understand what the boy was telling her between the lines. "What will happen to you?"

He gave a noncommittal shrug. "I don't know. I barely remember my father. He was away most of the time. I ran away when I was too young to remember."

"You can't just waltz into your father's hands again!" Akane pointed out in worry. "You would cause a war."

"I wasn't abducted by the Saotomes, I ran away. I ran away because my father was going to kill my mother. If you were to choose between your parents, who would you run to? Someone whom you barely know or someone who's been beside you forever?

"Now they're just bringing me back because they noticed I look frighteningly like my father. Because I am an orphan but demonstrate education. Because I stand out. Isn't that enough to plead for the Saotomes to pass through Ikkasei land? Isn't that enough to let you win your precious land?"

Akane wondered what it must feel like to be so young and be very much aware that the life you lead wasn't your own. She leaned in close and pressed the boy close to her in a tight hug. "What about Nabiki?"

"Mother does not know I am here," he answered stiffly. "But she is worried for the Tendo heirs crossing into Ikkasei territory. She's worried that the Tendo heir might say something about her and die because of it."

"That she would die?"

"My mother does not brood over much about her own death. She's more worried about his," Sei retorted motioning his head towards the tent that he just left. Sohin was emerging from its flap and Akane's eyes moved back towards Sei. "I do remember one thing about father. He is a very jealous man."

-

That evening, preparations were tense. Sohin did not trust easily and the Saotomes sensed that, but they followed him because Sei was with the Tendos, and they understood who Sei was. They respected his mother if not the child that stood before them, and they would die for him, simply because he was his mother's child.

Sohin glanced surreptitiously at the boy, knowing that he was being watched. Sei was silent most of the time, unlike their previous meeting. Although he was waited on hand and foot by the Saotome samurai, Omokage stayed by his side at all times. Nabiki chose well for her son's honor guard -- if he had to choose who would guard his back amongst Saotome ranks, it would be him.

Omokage noticed that he was looking at them and he inclined his head in acknowledgement of his presence. Sohin did the same. He supposed that he should demand more respect out of the man, but captivity was an equalizer of men and he supposed Omokage treated him more like an equal than a liege lord. He wondered briefly if Nabiki told the samurai that Ifuku was his sister, but decided that she wouldn't.

Nabiki gave out information sparingly, and she would not deem it important for Omokage to know that Sohin was a Tendo and that his sister was his supposed wife. Omokage would find that out sooner or later.

Sohin's gaze landed on Akane, already cleaning up after their makeshift dinner. They had started to get along, bonded against Ryouhei's jabs if not because of blood, something that had surprised him. She was loyal to a fault, and she had decided her loyalties lay with him over a bodyguard who had supposedly protected her since birth.

He walked towards her just as she rose from washing her hands. She smiled at him tentatively and he motioned vaguely towards the outskirts of the camp. She nodded, understanding the motions. Thankfully, Ryouhei was not around to interfere.

Sohin took Akane aside bringing her to the darker part of the camp. With the Saotome samurai, if they wanted privacy they needed to walk some distance before they could be free of the men. "Your bodyguard is not with you."

"He's out to answer the call of nature," Akane responded with a laugh. When she noticed his lack of comprehension, she looked down pointedly before looking up.

"Ahh," he said with understanding as soon as they reached their destination. They stopped at a clearing that the fire barely illuminated, but was free of people because of the river. Rock everywhere, and flowing water. Akane raised an eyebrow. Sohin rarely asked to talk to her alone.

She and Sohin had started grudgingly to get along, especially since Sohin received enough attacks from Ryouhei. With Ryouhei present to rile him, he barely tried to pick fights with her.

"Akane," his tone was serious. Not the commanding liege, but authoritative enough. "Do you love Saotome?"

Akane narrowed her eyes. Direct to the point. Sohin had never tried to skirt any issue. But she hadn't expected the personal question. They were months away from Ranma's territory. They were about to leave Saotome territory. "Is this about leaving the Saotome boundaries?"

Sohin shook his head. "I'm your older brother. This is about you."

"I'm not leaving you. I'm not returning to him," Akane answered slowly. She rubbed her hands against her arms, then closed her eyes. 'A moment stretched on to forever.' She opened her eyes again. "Don't remind me of what I lost, Sohin. Don't ask me to stay in Saotome land."

Sohin reached out tentatively and gave her shoulder a soothing pat. They were technically brother and sister, but they hadn't been together long enough for him to be comfortable enough to offer a reassuring hug. "I'm more selfish than you think, Akane. I wouldn't ask you to leave us. I need you to keep the triumvirate whole."

"Then why ask?"

Sohin looked uncomfortable under the question. The easy answer was something he did not like. "You've not answered my question."

Akane bent down on one of the larger borders to sit on it. She brought up her leg, staring at nothing for a while before turning her attention to Sohin again.

Sohin smiled at her, sitting just below the rock she occupied. It did not offer eye-contact but soothing companionship. "I thought you'd forgotten me. You do that a lot lately, retreat to somewhere we can't reach you."

"I was just thinking about how I was going to answer you." Akane took a deep breath, wondering if she could say the right things to make Sohin understand. "You give up some things because you must. I am with you because of him. Nabiki told me the truth. If I cannot accept that he is married, then I am not worthy of him."

"And if someone asks me for you, should I keep your hand in wait, or should I give you away in hopes that you will forget?" So he understood. Akane had failed to remember that Sohin was in much of a similar situation. He gave her a choice rarely offered to women at these times. "You're my sister, Akane, regardless of what happens, it's your happiness that I want."

"Has anyone offered?" There was another long pause. Obviously he didn't like the answer to that one either. "It wouldn't be fair for anyone to receive me as a bride. I don't have a dowry large enough to be worthy of anybody."

"Not even loyalty and trust?" he asked slowly.

"I've given both to you."

He stopped for a long moment, and she wondered if he understood that she had given away everything. He asked again, "And love?"

"I was married before I came here." She didn't have to elaborate for him to know that it wasn't merely the location she was talking about. "I thought I loved him. I guess I did, but what I felt there paled to what I experienced here. After Ranma, I've nothing left to give."

"Are you quite sure, Akane?"

Akane stepped off the rock and slid beside Sohin. She rested her head on his shoulder. She'd always wanted an older brother. "I'm quite sure, oniisan." And then she cried. Sohin stiffened up beside her, then began to tentatively pat her shoulder. Sohin did not have the experience of comforting Akane. "He's given me one memory to last for forever. How can I not be sure? How could I choose anyone else? How could I let someone take that memory away? How could I explain when I meet him again that I've given up? I can't."

He thought to change the topic. Any topic just to get her mind off what they were talking about now. "Hey, you know what, that's the first time you've called me oniisan."

"Don't let it go to your head," Akane said in between sobs.

"I doubt you'll let me," Sohin retorted as he gripped her shoulders tightly, until all of the pain washed away.

* * *

In retrospect, Ranma sensed that it had taken Nabiki considerable planning to breach the topic of the Tendos with him again. After another short-tempered bellow at a newly recruited samurai under his watch, Nabiki had approached him with a chiding look and a gleam in her eye that signaled him to be wary. 

She brought him an earthenware mug containing cool water and a small towel to wipe his face on. The morning drills with the samurai were hardly a chore for Ranma, but he'd been edgy lately, and he was more short-tempered than not when people did not get the maneuvers right.

When Genma was around he took on the duty as guardmaster in Nerima. Although his presence was rare because of strained relations between him and Nodoka, Genma had been increasingly frequenting the Nerima household, bringing his current wards with him.

As guardmaster he allowed Ranma time with the men. Genma did so because he understood the frustration of loosing Rose Brier. Nabiki, he sensed, knew it was more than that.

But since Nabiki managed most of Ranma's administrative work, all that was left for Ranma to do was arrange, then re-arrange the samurai shifts and beat his samurai to the ground for their lack of skills. Something that he didn't enjoy much of late.

"You aren't going to Sanuki for Akane?" she had asked, exasperated, as he took the cup for a drink. He was already starting to regret telling her the truth when she asked if he had missed Akane, but it had just spilled over his lips. A truth that needed to be voiced out before it ate him. When he remained silent, she raised an eyebrow in skepticism. "I see. You wouldn't go there for me?"

"Go there yourself if you're so worried," Ranma bit out, wiping his face before beginning another kata as the other samurai took up their shinai and practiced inside the dojo, giving them privacy for talk and Ranma room to maneuver.

"I can't," Nabiki muttered darkly as she glared at him, her hands planted firmly on her hips, the very image of a woman out to nag. "My conditions don't allow traveling."

That stopped him in mid-punch. Nabiki was hardly ever sick, she was as healthy as a horse. She never had a condition that disallowed traveling. He turned to her slowly. "What condition?"

She rolled her eyes at him, exasperated. At least, from her demeanor, he knew that whatever the matter with her was, it wasn't serious enough for her to be in her deathbed. "Do I have to spell it out for you?"

"Nabiki," he warned her, dropping his fists to his sides, giving her his full attention. "Just spit it out. What the hell do you want in Sanuki anyway?"

She bit her lip and winced before she blurted out, "Oh all right. I need to talk to the father of your soon to be nephew. He happens to be in Sagami."

The moment she said the words his mouth dropped open. "When the hell did you have time to get pregnant?"

"What are you--" she stopped in mid-sentence, confused at their conversation and then slowly smiled, as if the conversation suddenly caught up with her. "You were so busy during ganjitsu. It hardly took effort to entertain myself."

"Apparently," Ranma said dryly as he went towards the porch to reach the towel and glass once again. "You do understand that he could very well be dead by now."

"I know," she answered gravely, following him towards the shade of the house. She leaned against his arm closing her eyes, a gesture of comfort that they had shared long before they came back to Japan. "But you'll go and see for yourself and you'll tell me about it."

Ranma knew he couldn't deny anything his sister asked. "Fine, I'll go to Sanuki, Nabiki." He paused for a moment then realized something. "You created one hell of a stunt trying to kill yourself with Kodachi when you're pregnant."

"I didn't know then," Nabiki answered releasing him lightly. "There had been no signs before. I'm sure now."

He nodded touching his cheek to hers. "I'll get him back for you, Nabiki." He wouldn't go to the Tendo stronghold for himself, but he would do anything for Nabiki.

He felt rather than saw her smile against his cheek. "Try not to beat him senseless, all right?"

**

* * *

**

The three Tendo heirs and Omokage were the only companions Sei took on the first boat out of Owari for Ise. He hoped it would lead to fewer wrong conclusions on his father's part. Or rather, since his father would probably arrive at a more accurate conclusion than the lie they were telling, conclusions that didn't lead to war.

He leaned closer to Omokage, someone whom Sei had worked under several times during sparring against a larger opponent. Dressed in the usual peasant garb, he didn't look much different than the Tendos. Sei looked up to him with a small smile. "Are you ready to pretend to be a fisherman?"

Omokage smiled ruefully, tugging at the peasant clothes they had acquired at the closest seki, checkpoint. "When my lord commands, I obey." That was what Sei remembered in Omokage, determined and loyal to a fault.

Sei nodded. "Explaining to my father why I never came back is going to be tricky."

"Explaining to your father why you have Saotomes on your heels is going to be trickier," Omokage corrected.

Sei groaned. He was half convinced that his father wasn't going to believe his lies either. As Omokage steered their small boat to shore, Sei jumped off before docking.

One of the samurai, who Sei assumed to be the watch between the waterways, approached them. Ever since the entire business with his mother's alleged murder of his uncle, Ikkasei-Saotome relations had been strained leading to more paranoia on both sides. Since the docks were the direct port for Saotome landings, they were assigned a more stringent watch now than back when he was younger.

"You've entered Ise, fisherman, what business do you have in Ikkasei territory?" the inquiry was directed at Omokage. Sei after all, was just eight.

"We wish to have audience with the Ikkasei liege," Sei declared just as Omokage helped Akane from the boat.

The samurai inclined his head in Sei's direction without removing his attention from the others. "Ikkasei-sama holds court for grievances at the start of every month, come back then, child, and wait your turn."

From his inner kimono, Sei lifted an omamori charm that he always wore around his neck. He pried open the charm and tapped it against his palm. A hanko slid out and Sei held it out-for the samurai to see. "You'll grant me audience now because he's my father and I haven't seen him in three years."

The samurai took an inordinate amount of time looking at the seal before he was lucid enough to realize the meaning of what was being shown to him. "Seiichi-sama?"

Sei smiled ruefully as he hid the hanko inside the omamori once again. "I haven't heard my whole name in a long time. Please inform my father of my arrival."

-

Both Omokage and Sohin flanked Sei as he walked through the main Ikkasei donjon for the first time in three years. Similar to Rose Brier, the house was situated near the sea so that there could only be three points of attack. It was build on top of a man-made hill so that the castle was higher and they could see all points of approach.

His father had other palaces, and his main one resided deep inside Ise, but he toured his fief from east to west, starting in the beginning of the year, and during ganjitsu up to the second month. They were lucky that he was here.

They had been asked to wait in his father's receiving room, complete with a raised dais. Sei looked around the room. There was a small banner on either side with their crest, three cloves moving towards the center in a hatched circle adorning it. Sei rubbed his palm, he'd taken nothing marking him as Saotome from the main house. Amidst all of the seals, he felt like he'd lost his identity.

Akane squeezed his shoulder lightly and gave him a smile of encouragement. Considering their time together had been limited, he appreciated the gesture.

When his father entered the room, he had two samurai guard with him. Sei cocked his head as he assessed the kimono his father wore. It was adorned with five seals, marking him part of the ruling class. In the Saotome household, Nabiki and Ranma rarely dressed formally, but if he remembered correctly, his father always wore five seals, making his kimono formal.

They stood apart from each other, assessing each other until finally his father broke silence, "You look well, boy."

"Thank you, outou-sama," Sei answered as respectfully as possible. "I have been gone a long time. How is okaa-sama?"

A tense silence filled the room. They all knew Nabiki was dead or rather presumed to be dead, but then Sei had been lost right after she had been sentenced to death. He wasn't supposed to know she was dead. He wasn't supposed to know what had happened to her. "I sent your mother to Saotome land when she killed your uncle. The Saotomes tell me she died there a long time ago."

Sei bowed his head for a moment of respect for his supposedly dead mother. His father, Sugoshi, eyed him closely. "Seiichi, where have you been these past three years?"

Sei looked his father in the eye. "I was playing near the shore, I got caught up in the waves. This fisherman saved me." He waved his hand towards Omokage before continuing, "At the time, I couldn't tell him where I was from or who my father was. I only knew you were 'father'. I was hidden away from court most of the time."

"And you're returning now, because?"

"I am returning now because I found something that leads me back here." Sei took the charm from around his neck again and tapped out the hanko. He started to approach his father, but one of the samurai flanking him moved forward instead, opening his palm. Sei sighed and handed the stamp over.

The samurai looked at the seal and then announced, "It is Seiichi-sama's official hanko seal, my lord. His whole name is etched on it."

"And your mother always placed an omamori around your neck for protection," his father mused. "Even if she had been baptized Christian long before I married her. I guess you'll want to stay here now."

"I would rather go to Saotome territory and visit my mother's grave, father. If I could be permitted to do so," Sei requested fervently.

"That is out of the question. After we establish if you really are my son, you need to study to become daimyo," Sugoshi said emphatically. "You've lived with a fisherman for three years. What would you know of ruling Ise?"

"But please father, I want to pay my respects to my mother's grave! And I remember she told me once long ago that I have talent and her brother could teach me more than she could."

"You remember that but not your father's name." Sugoshi snorted. "Saotome Ranma could only teach you how to fight. He cannot teach you how to become daimyo."

"Then let me learn how to fight under him. Otou-sama, I will be with you for the rest of my life. I will oversee all that you ask of me, but please give me this request," the pain in his voice was real. Just as the pledge of his loyalty was equally truthful. His voice broke when he said, "She is my mother."

His father frowned, he may have not understood Nabiki, but he had cared for her in his own way. It was when she had supposedly broken her allegiance that he had turned cold to her. "I will think about your request Seiichi." He then turned towards Omokage and the Tendos. "And you must want something in return, for taking care of my son for three years."

"I would ask that my friends be granted passage through your territory, my lord." After a beat, Omokage continued, "They bring samurai with them."

Sugoshi raised an eyebrow and turned towards his son. "Your return is turning out to be stranger and stranger, Seiichi. Why would four peasants need safe passage through my lands?"

"I believe they want to go to Narikaido, otou-sama," Sei answered with a small hesitation in his voice. "He is the missing liege of Sanuki."

"And it was just a grand coincidence that they come to my door with my prodigal son," Sugoshi speculated out loud, weighing each of them down as they stood before him. "Four heirs brought in by one man, and a trail of samurai not far behind. Do you catch them like you do fish?"

Omokage remained silent, and Sugoshi turned to his son. "Did they take you from our shores, Seiichi? Did they take you to use you as a bargaining chip?"

Sei's startled look was not faked. He had not thought his father would think that, although it was a logical conclusion. "Otou-sama, okaa-sama has done right by me with my training. I would not be taken against my will if I could help it," Sei answered in defense to both the Tendos and his mother.

Sugoshi assessed Sei, but took his word for truth. "I will grant you your request to train under your uncle. But remember, you will study all there is to know about what being liege is under one of my retainers. You will return to me when I call you, every time I call you.

"As for the three of you, I grant you passage, but remember that you owe the house of Ikkasei a favor, and I am a man who never forgets debts owed to him."

They all bowed.

-

Sei's father's trust was not that long reaching, he had allowed passage on the condition that there were fifty Ikkasei men to escort them through the length of Ikkasei land.

Sei gave it some thought and managed to point out to Omokage that the best time to overtake the closest Ikkasei land was now, when a good deal of the Ikkasei samurai were busy with them.

Omokage had tweaked Sei's hair ruefully and whispered, "And if your father's spies hear you tell me that, I'd be flogged to death for trespassing and we will be constant attack through his borders. An advantage for the Tendos, but I'd rather remain alive, thank you."

Sei smiled a little before saying, "I knew you had some head for politics, Omokage-san."

To which Omokage just shook his head ruefully. Politics was something he was not interested in. He swiveled his eyes to Ryu and Sohin, both of whom were ordering men about.

"Kumon-san doesn't like losing," Sei observed slowly, watching both men. Kumon had been ordered to follow the Tendo heir, but it obviously irked him, especially now that he knew the Tendo heir was competition.

"No one likes losing, Sei-sama," Omokage informed him.

Sei shrugged. "Oh, but Kumon-san lost before he even knew his competitor, and it irks him a little." Sei's eyes swiveled to another brooding male. "This party seems to have an abundance of sulking, depressed, overbearing males."

"You mean Ryouhei-san?" Omokage inquired, following Sei's gaze. "Akane-sama has informed me that he is her personal guard."

"There is tension between the males here," Sei observed as Ryouhei took his time before answering a direct order from Sohin. Sohin did not reprimand him, but the tension was still present. "How are we going to survive walking to Sanuki with all of these men wanting to kill each other?"

"By not bringing them along," Akane answered.

Sei started, looking at Akane who had been behind them. Omokage bowed but Sei gave a small displeased frown. "It is impolite to listen to conversations not directed to you, Akane-sama."

She laughed as she sat down beside him motioning for Yuki to come. The boys regarded each other in silence before Akane introduced them, "Lord Seiichi Ikkasei, I would like you to meet my cousin, Lord Yuki Tendo. Yuki, this is Lord Sei, he is the son of the Ikkasei liege."

Both of them bowed formally before Yuki settled close to Akane. Sei turned to him, "You weren't there with the negotiations. I would have thought they'd bring their important cousin along."

"I was with Ryu-san."

Sei raised an eyebrow at the almost timid reply. He looked at Akane who was giving Yuki an encouraging smile. Sei glanced at Omokage briefly before extending his hand. "I know a couple of moves I want to try out. Has anyone been teaching you martial arts?"

"I know a bit from Sohin-niisan," came the reply after a while.

Shy. He was going to have to work on that. "The Tendo heir," Sei murmured. Sei leveled a critical eye at Sohin's movement, he hadn't seen the peasant-turned-samurai fight before, but from the way he moved, he must know at least the basics. "Okay, come on, I'll try it out and maybe I'll teach you."

Yuki turned to Akane for consent before leaving with Sei. Sei sighed, well, at least this was a change from Hanae. Hanae was jut too cocky for her own good.

-

Their weeks settled into a rhythm for the trip to Ikkasei. Sei, it seemed, was a good sparring partner for Yuki, whom up to that point had only the briefest interactions with children his age. They sparred when they camped, and Sei and Yuki were taught politics by the Ikkasei scholar they had with them when they were moving out.

Ryu Kumon and the three Tendos almost always conferred in the evenings to refine plans on what they were going to do once they reached Tendo territory. They had decided to cross over in small groups by the docks so as not to attract attention. The first to cross would be the heirs and Ryu.

They nit-picked the plan nightly, even if they already knew it by heart. Afterwards, Sohin sparred with the samurai because he intended to increase his skills before he arrived on Tendo soil. It was something which Ryu enjoyed and Ryouhei took advantage of regularly.

Ryouhei slammed his fist against Sohin's gut. Sohin moved back, but he didn't manage to evade the tail end of it. Even with the reduced power the punch had knocked his breath out of him.

"Wonderful," Sohin coughed out when he managed to force enough air into his lungs. "Kill the man whose consent you need for marriage. It's a sure way to get me to choose you as her husband."

"I didn't say I wanted to marry her," Ryouhei said defensively.

"Then you are an idiot," Sohin pointed out as he leaned towards one of the larger trees. His breath heaving. "When will you accept that she's not the same person she was a year ago?"

"I'm not sure why we're having this conversation. You tell me I'm an idiot for not wanting to marry her, but you tell me she's not the same person, making her unwilling to marry me," Ryouhei said bringing his fists forward in another ready stance. "Make up your mind."

"I will when the world stops spinning," Sohin muttered. He really should not have decided to test Ryouhei's strength. Sohin himself had endurance and a strong hitting arm, but Ryouhei could take more pain than he could, even if Sohin's strength equaled Ryouhei's own. "Stop trying to woo her if you won't have her. She's not yours."

"She will always be Akane."

Aside from his bruising body, Sohin started to feel the familiar pounding on his head whenever Ryouhei tried to reconcile his immaculate view of his sister with the current Akane. "Ryouhei, she views you fondly. But you've always been more of a brother than her lover."

"She said that?"

That would be the only way Ryouhei would back off. Sohin contemplated lying. His conscience won out. "No, but I know her."

"Then there's still a chance. I know her better than you do, Sohin-san." Sohin heard the dislike he had for the honorific.

Sohin refrained from saying, 'Not Akane **now** you don't.' Ryouhei looking like Akane's husband didn't help matters. Ryouhei acting like her husband didn't help matters. Akane's admission that she still loved Ranma didn't help matters either. He cursed his conscience -- things would be simpler if he did not have it. "You're a bullheaded idiot."

"You keep insulting me that way and I'll feed you to the ground," Ryouhei threatened.

"You will have to work harder to follow up on that threat," Sohin said as he straightened, getting his second wind. He'd not let Ryouhei beat him this easily.

-

Moving through Ikkasei territory was easy with the lost Ise heir in their party and an armed escort making sure that the samurai that followed them would not savage Ikkasei land.

The travel through the Gokiraido, which spanned the entire Ikkasei territory, was also educational for Sei, who had not walked the land since he had been five. Even if they were traveling from Ise to Yamamoto and Kawashi only, the scholarly man whom Sugoshi had assigned to Sei had lectured him on most of the land's politics and resources.

After breakfast they traveled most of the day, stopping only for lunch and for dinner. They camped outside settlements because the Ikkasei samurai did not want them entering cities. With the number of Saotome samurai they had, it was a perfectly justified worry.

The Ikkasei samurai had provisions from Ise, and the Saotomes had enough coin between themselves to buy provisions, although only the women were allowed inside the city to buy. Ryouhei was a good hunter, and occasionally at dawn he hunted to provide food for his lady. Sohin let Ryouhei feed Akane -- it was one mouth less for him to hunt and buy things for.

Ranma had ordered his men to bear no Saotome markings, effectively branding most of the men who followed Sohin as mercenary or rogue. It calmed the Ikkaseis a good deal, and made Sohin admit that stripping them of the title would at least not add strain to Ikkasei-Saotome relations.

The Saotomes would have to worry about getting back to Saotome land, but Ryu had assured Sohin more than once that they were splitting into four groups and would reenter Gokiraido in smaller numbers to return home. Since it was borrowing trouble, Sohin didn't add that to his worries.

After going over their plan again, as they had every evening, Sohin sighed. Although now so close to Sanuki, Sohin's hesitation was more apparent. "For this kind of plan, don't you think we have too many samurai?"

"You will need the samurai in case samurai under Chisei rally to her," Ryu explained. "We are merely a precaution. Mostly, this depends on you and Yuki-sama."

Sohin looked at his younger cousin, who was with them tonight listening to their plans, and who smiled at them with confidence at what they had come up with. Sohin sighed as he dismissed them to their nightly duties. Yuki would have more lessons alongside Sei, and Ifuku and Akane joined him in nightly practice with the Saotome samurai.

Although Sohin's fighting was good, the Saotome samurai had pressed him to be better than what he already was. They had been surprised that he was more skilled than they had initially assessed, although rough in his art. As if he had been taught some of the basic forms, and the rest were a mish-mash of things that he had patched up in places he had visited.

It was a style similar to what the Saotomes practiced, except for less of their aerial techniques. The nightly fights had forced him to learn quickly, and now, most Saotome samurai had to work hard to keep the bite of Sohin's blade from their bodies.

Ifuku and Akane rested as they watched Sohin fight Ryu again. Most of the time, Ryu won, but Sohin had earned Saotome respect easily because he had beaten Ryu once or twice, and that was sufficient enough for Sohin to be good.

Sohin nodded. "I wish I did not need this many men."

"You shouldn't. I have seen you playact with Yuki. The boy will do well, and so will you," Ryu reassured him.

Sohin just hoped it was not misplaced trust or merely for easing his troubled mind that Ryu voiced the words.

-

Akane wasn't accustomed to traveling far by foot, which was preferable to traveling by horse. Naturally, Akane had commuted from her work to the house and from school, and she had been on training trips with her father when she was young, but traveling for months on end was quite different from traveling for days.

It was a good thing, then, that she was on foot most of the time, or she would have to show that she never did get experience riding a horse. By the end of the first month of their travel she ached in places that she didn't know had muscles.

At least, she noted with weariness, she was used to sleeping on the hard ground of the earth, or she would have more sore muscles.

On their journey, peasants were already tilling their paddies so that it would be ready for their rice seedling patches. Because it had not snowed the past year, there had been no remaining snow on the land, and the ground was not as hard.

Since Yuki and Sei were engrossed in lessons most of the mornings, the Ikkasei retainer taking up their time, she only had time to talk with them over food. She had to marvel at the difference and level of maturity of both Sei and Yuki from children where she came from. They never quarreled, and although they played games and wished fervently for a break in their lessons as all children are wont to do, they accepted compromise and punishment with little fuss.

The samurai had chosen a scenic place to stop for their lunch, since the day marked the middle of spring. There was a river beside them and its water was already warm. Its trickling sound was a soothing counterpoint to the rest of the journey that lay ahead.

Sohin had fashioned a kite for Yuki that day, and gave it to the boy after lunch, so that they would have something to play with while the samurai scouted for a trail ahead of them. So, after lunch both Yuki and Sei were tagging the bright red kite through the azure sky while the wind blew fluffs of willow in their way.

Although it was too early for cherry blossoms, plum trees were already showering them with flowers, and there were patches of violets. After they tangled their kite into a tall plum tree, Akane trotted up to them filtering the sun out with her hand as she whistled at the height that their kite had reached.

"Waah, that far, huh?" Akane asked in good nature, as she pulled her peasant's sleeve's up her arms. The tree was around twenty-feet tall. "I can climb a tree."

Sei looked dubious, but Akane had already reached for the first branch before he could protest, and had swung herself up. Ifuku, who had seen the commotion, approached the two children. She leaned towards Sei and whispered, "My lord, don't you know how to jump the trees?"

Sei gave her a sheepish smile. "I do. But my father's samurai is here and Akane-sama seems to be doing well."

"I heard that!" Akane hissed as she ascended another branch. "Hey, I can do this on my own."

By that time, Sohin was already sitting on a large gnarled root of the tree, motioning for Ifuku, Sei and Yuki to sit on the natural benches. Sei and Yuki all scrambled to follow, while Ifuku walked towards him offering a light towel to both children. Yuki gave Sohin the kite strings to roll again into a ball.

"I think these plums are already ripe!" Akane called from above them, as she tapped the orange fruit in front of her. Unripe loquats were sour, but it was better than no dessert at all. Unfortunately, tapping did not reveal any sound that would tell her if it was all right to pluck and the fruit bruised easily.

"I thought you were fetching a kite!" Sohin shouted back. Yuki suppressed a giggle at the rhyme, and Sohin reached out to tweak his nose because of it.

"Oh, be quiet! I'm getting that too. But I might as well do something else while I'm up here," Akane told him, as she straddled a branch while eyeing the offerings of the tree.

By then, Ryouhei approached them with mild concern. "My lady, are you all right?"

"I need a sword! My kodachi isn't cut out for this." Akane said instead, the tree would not yield its fruit to her willingly without it. "Is there any chance that you guys have one with you?"

"There is no way I'm giving you father's sword to pick fruit!" Sohin sounded appalled. He should be, their father's sword was generations old. To suggest using it for harvest of fruit was blasphemy.

"Give her the Yokohama sword then," Sei suggested. For a moment Sohin was struck dumb. Before he could formulate a reply, Sei shrugged. "I told you the lady who cared for me was the town gossip. You were the talk of Yokohama, you know."

Sohin shook his head. "There is no way I'm giving you **any** of my swords!" However, Sohin took pity on Akane and unbelted a small dagger. He hefted the blade lightly and was about to throw it towards her when Ryouhei took it from his fingers and followed Akane.

"Hey! I said I could fetch it myself!" Akane said indignantly, taking the sheathed dagger from Ryouhei's fingers. It had taken Ryouhei mere moments to jump towards the height Akane had climbed painstakingly to, which irritated her a little.

As Akane made short work of the plums, Ryouhei took the fruits she had deposited in a makeshift basket from a large cloth that he had used as a bag.

Ifuku pushed at Sohin as Sei and Yuki tracked the butterflies flitting from flower to flower in the plum tree's shade. "Shouldn't you be helping her?"

"And interrupt them before my lord Ryouhei permits?" Sohin scoffed, his attention at the knotted ball of string that Yuki and Sei had returned to him. "I better not, else I get flayed before I reach my destination."

"You know you're not so far that I can't hear you!" Akane reminded him again, as she tried to hit him with a plum. Sohin had evaded without looking, which galled Akane. Sometimes she wished there were normal people in the bunch that she associated with. She turned to Ryouhei. "Can you do that?"

"Do what, my lady?"

"Dodge without looking?" Akane demanded.

From the look that he gave her, half sheepish, half proud, she guessed that he could. "I can't!" Yuki admitted to honestly. "They can, but I can't. So don't ask them or you're going to feel bad."

Akane gave him a small smile and then scrambled up to follow up on her promise to fetch his kite. After a few moments of struggle, she managed to untangle it from one of the branches.

She wrapped the tail end of the kite onto her left fore-arm and moved down slowly from the branches. Ryouhei moved towards her, offering an arm to lean closer, but she waved him away.

He hovered behind her but let her continue down the tree alone. By the time she reached the ground Yuki had a big grin plastered across his face. Sohin was standing up, one hand outstretched. "Would you refuse your own brother's hand, my lady?"

Akane laughed. "Well, okay, but only since you lent me your dagger." She turned towards Sei. "We have dessert!" Ryouhei had landed lightly behind her, laying the fruit down into the ground.

Sei took one immediately and peeled it with the small dagger that he carried with him. "Mmm, wise choice with the fruit, Akane-sama."

Akane smiled with her handy-work as she offered one of the plums to Yuki. He bit into the flesh and agreed with Sei immediately. Akane smiled lightly. In these moments, she could believe they were family.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Ranma co. were borrowed from the brilliant mind of Rumiko Takahashi. The original story was based on a book, _When there is Hope_.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

17207

I'm unsure about the stand that Ranma took when facing Happosai. I don't really know if it was especially brave, or especially stupid.

As for Sohin's cut and subsequent healing (this chapter and the previous chapter), I had to look at tons of Human Atlases to make sure that the hit Sohin performed on the previous chapter was within the realm of the believable. As some of us know, the chest area as well as the abdomen are critical places for stab wounds, so it would be difficult (if not impossible) to create the suicidal move that was described here. I hope you could suspend your disbelief for this moment.

A scene in this chapter was inspired by one of my favorite manhwa (Gung) and subsequently it's TV series (Princess Hours). Brownie points to those who could get it. Hopefully I'll be able to read the end of gung.

Sei's character is turning out well. He's developed over the years that I've written this (much like Ifuku). He's grown up if you will. Yuki has too, although not a lot. The charm that Sei's father mentions here is an omamori, it's sort of a cloth folded pouch wich you could hide something small in. Ideally carried at all times, as Sei would have needed it to be in his person when he ran away. :)

I wrote this piece when there was a storm blowing over our city. Storms are really terrifying in their beauty, of course, this one wasn't really a 'storm' story and it wasn't even a particularly strong storm (we had two strong ones pass by Manila this year Milenyo and Reming)

_Research for this Chapter:_  
**Family Seals **(Mon) largely in Wikipedia.

**Daimyo Flags** generally in Flags of the World.

**Spring time**! I don't have spring in my country, so I had to know how spring 'feels' like. We only have two seasons in my country, rainy and dry. I also researched fruits that would be seasonal by that time.

iCe

other weird notes I just wanted to say:

I wore a yukata to my christmas party... haha, look at my livejournal. It took me hours to make the obi just right, and I plan on using the things I learned in the Japan trip on the last chapters.

**_1 more chapter + TWO EPILOGUES to go_**

* * *

**website: **ice _dot _esmartdesign _dot _com : working thanks to Arthur Hansen  
**email**: siuane _at_ gmail _dot_ com  
**livejournal**: ice _underscore_ of _underscore _dreams 


	21. Part 20: April to June

**Revision Notes: **  
06/10/07 -- changed the way Ifuku refers to Sohin  
05/29/07 -- Uploaded

* * *

**Special Thanks to: **  
Tin  
Ellen Kuhfeld  
Jourdan Bickham 

And to the person reading this.

You are all my reasons.

* * *

Masters, rulers in all lands!  
How will the future reckon with this Man?  
How answer his brute question in that hour?  
When whirlwind and rebellion shakes all shores?  
When this dumb terror shall rise to judge the world,  
After the silence of the centuries?  
_The Man with the Hoe  
_**Edwin Markham **

* * *

**Rendezvous with Fate v.3 **  
by iCe  
Chapter 20 

_... We stood at the precipice of destiny. One moment we were exiles, in the next we could be liege... _

* * *

All throughout their journey, Akane had stared openly at their surroundings because she could not help comparing Sanuki to what she considered as her hometown in Sagami. Sanuki did not smell like the ocean as Sagami did, although there was a body of water separating Sanuki and the rest of Japan . Moreover, the terrain was hillier than the straight plains of the Kanto region, but the streets of Sanuki were similar to Sagami in their structure and only differed in the variety of goods that were sold. 

However, though Sagami was a prosperous town, Sanuki seemed largely decrepit. Roofs which did not have enough thatch on them, run-down shoji, and streets which were uneven and filled with rough pebbles.

Akane noticed Sohin shaking his head at the state of the town and Akane looked at Ifuku for guidance. Ifuku lowered her voice so only Akane would hear, "It's Lady Chisei's duty as liege to see that most of the major paths are serviceable, and that the tenants' houses are kept well."

Sohin's displeasure was palpable, especially since he could have prevented these minor things if he had been in his fief. But since he was an absentee liege and they were in the enemy's stronghold, they were cautious about their inquiry and their actions. Sohin took stock of the situation, catalogued it for future reference and simmered in silence.

They had crossed over from Ikkasei territory directly onto Sanuki without stopping in other provinces or the island of Awasi , the midway point between Sanuki and Kawashi which was also their port of departure from Ikkasei territory.

Their party had divided into smaller groups, with different entry points so that the large influx of samurai entering Sanuki would not be suspicious. A few ronin wandering around entering for work, and a few peasants wanting to settle in a new town entering in the span of three weeks would be less suspicious than one hundred fifty samurai out of nowhere. By the time some of the samurai entered, they hoped Yuki had enough hold with the Tendo samurai already in place to cover up the amount of inflowing people from Chisei and that they be hidden in the guise of a contingent of escorts for the upcoming court that Yuki will demand.

As soon as they had approached the seki for entrance into the stronghold that was Sanuki Castle , Yuki had been announced by Sohin. Sohin had been Yuki's guardian for most of the child's life, but his current status as a servant let the samurai easily dismiss him and the rest of the party as Yuki's entourage.

The samurai stood in attention as they were presented with the child that would one day be their daimyo. A horse was quickly saddled for Yuki, for comfort on the last leg of his journey. A samurai was sent ahead of them to inform the main castle and Chisei of her nephew's arrival and another samurai escorted them into the inner city.

As Sohin helped Yuki on to the horse, he commented lightly, "In the outskirts of the Sanuki, Yuki-sama noticed that some villages had been burnt."

Their escort shifted in discomfort before asking, "Which villages would that be?"

Sohin named the villages that they had visited, interspersed between the docks and the main capital of Sanuki. The samurai nodded before replying, "We've been having trouble with bandits of late. We haven't enough samurai to cover the lands that are close to the docks and far from the trade route."

From what Akane could gather, since the island was entirely closed off most of the trade garnered by Sanuki was on land amongst the different daimyo. Sohin had voiced out once that Chisei had no interest in the shipping business.

"Being daimyo means more than just owning land, it also means that I have to take care of the people who live in my land," Yuki commented, and the samurai shifted again. Akane recognized Sohin's hand in those words. Sohin might have been an absentee daimyo for so long and he might not have wanted to be daimyo, but he had taught his charge well. "I was born to protect them. I was taught to prevent such things from happening. I will speak to my aunt about this."

Akane had visited enough castles, and Sanuki castle was no different from Happosai's or Ranma's own keep at Nerima. The Tendo keep was smaller than Happosai's, its large walls keeping in a small town that was supposedly thriving under Chisei's protection.

The main donjon was separated from the rest of the town by a moat, and a stone bridge connected the rest of the keep to the central donjon. The gold-leaf-plated gates opened to reveal a woman dressed formally in a kimono adorned with what Akane learned was the Tendo seal.

Because some samurai had already sent word in advance, Yuki's arrival caused some stir. His sudden appearance had banners unfurled at the gateway lining the grand stone steps all the way to the inner gates and Chisei personally out at the gates, her arms open wide in welcome.

"To what do I owe this visit, my liege?" Chisei asked in deference. Yuki had not been to the Tendo donjon since he was pronounced fit for training two years before. It was apparent that Chisei was surprised to see him back so soon after he left.

"I would like to hold court, Aunt Chisei," Yuki answered in an almost imperious voice. Chisei's eyebrows rose at its tone. Yuki waved his hand in beckon, and his four companions bowed. "I would like to request that my servants attend me in court. I will be comforted by their presence."

"As you wish, my liege," Chisei answered, bowing low in compliance. Her respect for Yuki bordered on tolerance. "The court will be ready next month."

Yuki nodded in acceptance and dismounted off the horse flicking his fingers for his four companions to follow almost as if in afterthought. They were led around the house towards the main room, clutching a cloak that kept her features hidden tightly.

As soon as they were left alone Yuki gave out a sigh of relief. "I don't think I'll ever be prepared for handling court," he said wearily as he sat down on one of the zabutons prepared. Sohin opened an adjoining room surveying their lodgings for the night.

"This court will be your first time in front of all of the samurai holding the banner to the Tendo name," Ifuku murmured as she opened the dresser where clothes were kept. She took out formal clothes and eyed them skeptically before giving Yuki a once over. "I doubt that you'll fit any of the clothes your father left behind."

"We'll make do. We have a month," Sohin answered as he secured the place for them then knelt in front of Yuki. "I know this will be a difficult time for you, Yuki-dono so if you want to back away now... you have to tell me. I'm sure that I can arrange something instead of the court."

Yuki shook his head, determined of how to proceed. "We have already talked about this since you fetched me in Tutumi. The court is the fastest way to establish you, 'niisan. Besides Ryou-san wouldn't be able to understand a sudden change in the middle." He looked towards Ifuku and Akane for confirmation. Ryouhei was standing in silent watch near the doorways.

Akane didn't know what to answer and Ifuku sighed in resignation. "It's true, Sohin. Unless you want to take them head on, the court is the only way to settle this without too much bloodshed."

"I just wish we didn't have to bring you into this," Sohin said as he regarded his young cousin thoughtfully.

"We've tried to prepare him as much as we could on the way here, but a rehearsal of sorts could be arranged here, right?" Akane suggested, speaking up for the first time. Although the past weeks had deepened the relationship with her siblings, she was still ignorant of court. Ranma had taken her to Happosai only once, and he did not hold any formal proceedings in Rose Brier.

Sohin nodded in agreement as he looked at the boy over. "We have a month. Chisei has promised that she'll give you her best advisers, but forgive me if I don't trust her. We'll take information and we'll work on what to decree."

"Akane and I will prepare your garb. Sohin will teach you the best strategy to win those fickle lords over," Ifuku said as she unfurled the long formal robes.

"I guess we have much to do before the month is over then," Yuki said as he looked at his three elder cousins and then bowed. "Please take care of me."

- 

It was a good thing that Ifuku was with Akane, because she didn't quite know what being a maid to Yuki entailed. Fortunately, Ifuku had a lifetime's worth of pretending to be a maid, and had taught Akane most of what she knew.

Unfortunately, a good deal of the preparations required for Yuki's ascendancy -- or rather Sohin's ascendancy and Yuki bestowing his blessing -- needed formal clothes for Yuki and Sohin. It required skill with the needle which Akane, since her high school days, knew she did not posses.

There was also an art to housework that eluded her, and she found that her time with servants, be it in Rose Brier or the electric vacuum cleaner, made her inadequate to perform most of the rudimentary tasks required of her. If it weren't for Ifuku's constant guidance, she would have been lost completely. Nothing would have been accomplished save for a few scraps of cloth more suitable for rags than for a liege lord.

Sohin spent the day spying and learning what he could of the upper samurai in the guise of touring the city with Yuki. He also made sure that Chisei invited all of the Tozama daimyos, the outside lords, for court. Ijo, Awa, Tosa and Awasi were large provinces, larger than both Sagami and Musashi combined and therefore had Fudai daimyo, members of the successful races, to lend administrative power. The formal court was going to admit around twenty samurai into their midst, which gave Sohin enough people to hide amongst.

As future Kokushiu, a Lord of the Province, Sohin held enough power to be equal to Happosai, but for the title to mean something, Sohin must be acknowledged by all daimyo who would rally under him. Not a small feat, seeing Chisei had tried her damned best to exile most of those who would follow him.

In the evenings, Sohin reviewed with Yuki all that the boy had learned from the Ikkasei tutors about court protocol and their plan for the fateful day at court. They even went into the receiving room to gauge its layout and get a feel of its defensive capabilities, should anyone suddenly get violent and try to kill Yuki.

Ryouhei for the most part, followed Akane and Ifuku. The Tendo samurai presumed that he was harmless because he carried no sword, but Akane had seen him work with that umbrella and bandanna of his and knew differently. He was silent, and acted like a beast of burden, carrying buckets of water for Yuki's bath and bringing home parcels of fine bolts of cloth after Akane's shopping for Yuki's clothes. It made it easy for the samurai to forget that he was a big hulking male.

Sohin received word from Ryu secretly, although not as frequently as they would like, out of necessity. Most Saotome samurai were in place within two weeks of their stay in Sanuki, the rest promising to follow on the third week of their preparations, since none wanted to enter at the last minute. Some found odd jobs around the city, some camped well outside the view of the watcher's tower, aided by the fact that they could sleep in trees, and some had even the skill to infiltrate the castle. Akane knew one was sleeping in one of the tucked away storage rooms while the youngest of the troupe was playing errand boy, grubby though he appeared to be, but strong and eager enough to earn his keep.

Their work became routine within a few days of their arrival, and they talked as little of the plan as possible. They had already taken to heart what they were going to do on their travel to Sanuki. They did not need Sanuki's samurai to overhear them plotting to get rid of Chisei.

Chisei sometimes took it unto herself to order Yuki's "servants" around the house as well. Akane presumed that it was both to test Yuki's patience with her as well as trying to tire them so that they could not do anything else in the house but the work that she ordered.

It was fortunate, then, that Chisei did not deign it her duty to talk to the servants in person, or Akane would have been recognized. Care to hide Akane's face was always taken into account, and Ryouhei acted as a shield most of the time, to partially shadow her from view.

One such day found Ryouhei and Akane buying items that would adorn the receiving room Yuki was going to preside over. Akane walked the streets worriedly looking at the coins threaded into several bracelets now adorning her wrist. "I hope you know how to shop, because I certainly don't," Akane muttered under her breath.

"I will haggle for you if you like," Ryouhei offered, although Akane wondered if he doubted her words because of it, but Akane still hadn't gotten the hang of using the currency and she couldn't very well make solid decisions because of it.

They had stepped into the main marketplace. The houses opened on one side, beckoning them inside for their wares. Because she and Ryouhei didn't know the locations of the merchandise, they passed each of the stores, looking over porcelain cups for serving tea in one, and paper for the doorways the next.

Akane smiled in remembrance as they passed by the shops. The last time she had gone shopping, it had been with Ranma. She hadn't noticed that Ryouhei had stopped to watch her until she had spotted dyed cloth that Ifuku had added onto her list for the lining of Yuki's kimono.

Akane turned to him, watching him looking at her with a thoughtful expression. "What is it?"

"Sometimes I wish I was the one who could make you this happy." The yearning was palpable in his voice, no less strong because of the gruffness of it. "But at the very least you are smiling."

Had she been that obvious in her sadness that her joy was something to wish for? Had she been that callous not to notice what the people around her wanted for her? "You do make me happy," Akane consoled.

He slowly shook his head. There was a distance between them, more than the arm-span that currently separated them. "I don't. I may make you smile, but I don't make you happy." He stepped forward to shield her from the sun's rays with his umbrella once again.

There was a moment of silence before she decided to address his thoughts, "What were we like before I was lost to you? When you thought I was dead?" Ryouhei had known her for most of her life.

"I was your doting elder brother," which probably explained why he and Sohin, her supposedly legitimate older brother, didn't get along. "And you were the reason we were able to continue on as we had."

He ended the conversation by turning to the cloth she had been fingering and haggling with the merchants for it. Akane touched the small comb that she always carried with her, hidden in the long sleeves of her kimono. "Sometimes I wish, you could make me happy too," Akane whispered.

- 

Because talking to Ryu amidst Tendo land was risky, Sohin did not do it until a week before they planned to act. Even then they were careful: meeting in a tavern where there was sake, a lot of travelers, and no one remembered faces nor asked questions.

Sohin had been sitting at one of the tables for a while before Ryu arrived. He bought a drink and motioned to the low table before asking, "Would you mind if I shared your table?"

Sohin looked around the tavern, it was full, and there were sparse seats available. He looked up at Ryu's grinning face before he waved at the empty seats.

At the pretense of being a traveling merchant, Ryu pulled out the bunch of baskets that he'd been lugging around and laid them on the table. Sohin tried to exhibit cursory interest wile sipping his sake slowly. "Where are you selling your wares, merchant?"

"Around." Ryu shrugged, taking a big gulp of the sake before continuing, "I sold two to the palace but mostly near the marketplace. These are still rough." He made a motion towards the baskets on the table, "But come next week they'll be nicer for sale. A lot of good material is entering the town, you might be interested."

Words that meant he was keeping two guards at the palace but most at the market place. They were not in formation yet, but they will be next week, which was when Sohin really needed them. He also informed Sohin that daimyo were already starting to trickle into Sanuki and that Ryu would do his best to keep an eye on them.

"I'm looking for paper for the shoji in my master's hall. Would you know anyone who sells it cheaply, merchant?" He was still looking for the deployment map of the troops inside the Tendo palace, and asking if Ryu had information pertaining to it from the two men he had hired inside.

Ryu shook his head in disappointment. "No, I hear Sanuki is renowned for its igusa. You might want to check around yourself. I'm new in the area, I don't know much about the local wares."

Sohin nodded. He had expected as much. It had been his duty to look for the deployment maps in the first place, they were not where his father had kept it when he was young, but he had a few more places to search. The problem was the weapons. They had to cut off access to the weapons before anyone suspected an attack.

If he counted the two men that Ryu had inside, Ryouhei, Ifuku and Akane, he had five people to try and block samurai access to stored weapons. Most samurai are not allowed to carry weapons inside the gates, hence the need to simply block access. The problem was Chisei's personal guard, who most certainly would have their weapons on their person. But since they would be in a closed room with high dignitaries, the samurai would be behind the red tassel, a doorway which led to an adjacent room. And since it would be Yuki's court, and not Chisei, Yuki had the power to change the samurai who would be guarding him. Hopefully.

Sohin sighed, the wait was already getting on his nerves. Planning to take fortresses was for generals, not gift merchants. He had practically no experience in leading men into battle. After this he was going to have to train in battle tactics.

"And do you think people in your house will open their gates for my baskets?" Ryu asked carefully.

'Right, as if that's going to happen without some planning,' Sohin thought. "My sisters will open the gates if they want to buy something." At least, Sohin hoped he wouldn't be needing the samurai, but he would need them to subdue those samurai who are loyal with Chisei. "Five days from now, my sister might need one of your baskets."

Ryu nodded, that had been the most important message that needed to be relayed: when the court was going to be held. "All right, I shall be waiting for your sister."

Sohin stood up, leaving coins at the table for his sake, before ducking out into the night. At least the entrance of the daimyo into the town covered some of the Saotome men as lagging entourage.

The deployment maps, weapons, subduing samurai inside the stronghold and letting Saotome samurai in. They might just succeed in taking over Sanuki without bloodshed.

* * *

Nabiki hated pretending to be her brother for long periods of time. The masculine gait was so different from her own that she spent half of the time sitting down, standing still or jumping. 

Still, he earned the break. And if she hadn't urged him to leave, he would have remained in Nerima in his black mood. She wouldn't have minded it much, but he was virtually growling at the samurai for the most minor of offences. She had caught him shouting at Yuka once for not boiling water.

Reinstalling the samurai that they had commanded from Rose Brier into Nerima was much more difficult than anticipated. They now had an excess of samurai that had nowhere to be allocated. Fortunately, Ranma's decision to lend out some men to Sohin effectively lessened the influx. She would still have a difficult time assigning them new posts, but at least, it wasn't an immediate need.

Currently, Nabiki was a he, as was expected since she was pretending to be her brother, and outlining plans for the samurai's final posts when they do return from Sanuki. It was then that a samurai interrupted him from his work by announcing Kuno Tatewaki's arrival. Nabiki raised an eyebrow but said, "Bring him in."

He arranged the papers and piled them up in a small corner of the work table before looking up to see Kuno bowing with respect before approaching the raised dais where Nabiki-kun had asked a maid to bring in a work table. Since the Nerima "house" was their father's main stronghold, it was more like a lesser castle with all of the function rooms, and thus Nabiki-kun was receiving Kuno in a formal setting.

A zabuton was placed in front of the raised dais for Kuno to sit on, while Nabiki-kun heard a few samurai stationing themselves behind the red door ready to barge in if she shouted for help. "To what do I owe this visit, Kuno-san?"

"Lord Saotome," Kuno said from below. "I have worked in the past to help you with your sister."

"I am aware of that, and I am grateful for it," Nabiki-kun said cautiously. Kuno had called him lord. Ranma and Kuno were both heirs to respective provinces and lords to parcels of land. Kuno did not need to refer to Ranma as a lord. He had the right to call him with the honorific √san, and since Ranma was married to his sister and he had helped with her capture, they were probably close enough to drop the honorifics. A respectful Kuno meant he wanted something from Ranma, something that he wasn't sure Ranma would give.

"I think I may know of a way for you to keep Kamakura ," Kuno said slowly.

Nabiki-kun fisted his hands. " Kamakura has been tied together with Rose Brier for as long as Rose Brier has stood as a fortress, and since it has been turned over to Kuno hands because of your sister's death, I doubt that there is any offer that your father would accept as payment."

"You could arrange a marriage between me and your sister," Kuno suggested.

Nabiki drew a sharp breath. If Kuno had offered this to Ranma, Ranma would not have accepted. If Kuno had offered it to Happosai, he probably **would **have accepted. But he had offered it to her, albeit unwittingly. "Your father believes Nabiki is dead, as do most of your samurai, Kuno-san. I cannot suddenly resurrect her on your whim."

"My father does not need to know it is Nabiki I am marrying. He just needs to know that I am marrying a Saotome. I will invite a few witnesses, some of the people close to me, my father will give you the land. He does not need to see a bride, and if he visits we could always rent a courtier to pretend to be her. It would be stupid for him to hold on to something that sits in the middle of Saotome territory, with no one to govern it. And I know for a fact that most of those in Kamakura are already loyal to your house."

Nabiki-kun closed his eyes for a moment. Nabiki had always been practical in most choices that had been dealt out to her. "Nabiki is married."

"She could get a divorce easily enough. She hasn't seen her husband in three years. He thinks she's dead."

"Most of your men think she is dead."

"No, a handful of my men think she is dead. And they could be dealt with by sending them to sentry duty in the farthest of my estates, where Nabiki would never go."

"Nabiki also has a son."

"I will keep him as my own until he finds out what he wishes to do with his sword."

"She's too strong willed for you."

"You dismiss me too easily."

"Give me at least two years to prepare her."

"I will make --" He stopped in mid-argument, his eyes wide in surprise. "Did you just agree?"

Nabiki-kun sighed, marrying the idiot would probably be the least of her worries. "You must understand that Nabiki is accustomed to a certain amount of power."

"I am willing to give that to her."

"You'd best remember that promise, Kuno-san." Nabiki-kun murmured, a soft smile playing on his face. "And Kuno, don't **ever **make the mistake of mentioning it to me or to Ranko-san in the future. You could talk about it to Nabiki, but never to me or Ranko."

Kuno looked startled at the unusual request.

"You must promise this, or I will not give her for omiai. If I could speed up her divorce, or if she tells me that she would rather marry you sooner, I will send for you before the two years."

Kuno bowed in agreement. Nabiki-kun smiled. "Well, better to you than to the Tendo, I guess."

* * *

A few hours before they either took back what was held from them, or died on the blade, Sohin faced both his sisters. Ifuku solemnly handed him the formal kimono that he would wear, bearing the marks of an obscure house, but a house of the successful families none-the-less. 

He looked at both of his sisters and hugged them. "If I die, please go back to Ranma." He dared not use the title nor the last name lest they be overheard through the paper-thin walls. "He would take you."

"You won't die," Ifuku said with more confidence than she felt, but she was going to be stronger than her brother for their sakes. "You are our hope, dearest brother, and our heart. You carry with you our future."

Akane smiled as she leaned over and covered his hair with a large hat that was part of the kimono marking him as part of the daimyo class. And she stepped back to fall in line with Sei who was now all dressed in his own formal garb.

"I take my leave, my lord," Sohin bowed towards his cousin, and Ifuku led him outside.

Yuki looked after them as he looked up to Akane. "We'll wait behind the rooms of the receiving chambers," Yuki finally decided. "I am nervous."

"So am I cousin, so am I," Akane murmured as she followed him dutifully.

- 

It had taken an inordinate time of waiting beside the hallways before some of the daimyo led by samurai walked the halls of the receiving chamber, and Sohin counted them one by one, waiting until they had finally reached the last that they should encounter. They waited until he disappeared inside the room before they made their move.

Ifuku stepped into the hallway briskly bowing as a servant would and generally trying to look like she was leading a dignitary to the hallways of the receiving room.

A samurai stopped her, "Who goes there?"

"Ifuku, sir. I was instructed by Yuki-sama to lead my lord to his receiving chamber," Ifuku said motioning towards Sohin, who had just followed her into the hallway, his head raised, although a good deal of his face shadowed by the hat he wore.

As a servant, Sohin did not bear a second look, as a daimyo, the samurai were weary of him. One of the guards frowned, "I don't remember admitting him. Where is his invitation?"

"It is with Yuki-sama, they had been talking just a little while before." Ifuku shrugged she let a little steel enter her voice, though it was uncommon for a servant to do so. But pride which has been stung was easily recognizable, and they would see it as that. "You recognize me as Yuki-sama's maid and you doubt my word on this?"

The samurai shifted uncomfortably, uneasiness warring with doubt. Sohin spoke mildly. "Ifuku-san, do not trouble the samurai so, they are doing their jobs." He turned to the samurai holding out his arms in a motion that was designed to make him look harmless. "I'm sure he might not remember all of those who passed by the gates, seeing that there were daimyo and more retainers than we could count, and the young lordling could be in danger. We might as well call in Yuki-sama or Chisei-sama to verify that I am who you say I am before I am admitted inside the chamber. You are after all, just Yuki-sama's maid and these samurai would not trust easily or Chisei-sama would be displeased with them."

At his suggestion the two guards became more alarmed. They did not want to be called incompetent by Chisei knowing what that entailed, and they did not want to bother Yuki.

Ifuku bowed as she presented the door to Sohin. "My lord, they are about to start, it would bring Chisei-sama great displeasure if one of her guests were late, held just beyond the gates of the hallway. And Yuki-sama requires that I be on the raised dais when he enters."

The samurai visibly sweated. "Maybe we were hasty, Ifuku-san. Yuki-sama has expressed that he has been with you for years. We don't need to check."

It also helped that yesterday, when they were preparing the receiving chamber, unfurling banners and replacing tatami Yuki had announced that he trusted his entourage -- namely Ifuku, Akane, and Ryouhei -- and would prefer if they were followed for the court's opening.

The samurai opened the door for Sohin. "My lord, enter please. Ifuku please return to Yuki-sama's side the soonest."

Ifuku bowed as Sohin entered the room and then turned around to return to Yuki. She needed to be near Yuki, because he was nervous and her presence calmed him. She closed her eyes, her nerves were not soothed by their predicament but she could pretend to be strong for them.

- 

Although the number of samurai had increased because of the number of daimyo entering the stronghold, the guards were more intent on people coming in, than the people going out. They did not notice Ryouhei until he struck.

Ryouhei, along with the two other Saotome men, had taken out the guards at the southern gate before alarm could be sounded. He wiped his hands clean before hiding the evidence and opening the large doors towards the inside of the donjon.

Ryu was immediately the first one in. Outside, the city was largely ignoring the number of samurai entering, knowing that Yuki was in the palace and that samurai were going to be accompanying their daimyos inside.

The samurai following him dispersed along the garden while Ryu pored over the deployment map in Ryouhei's hands.

He frowned, Ranma had told him that there were four donjons in the palace. They were connected by hallways where the samurai would receive their weapons and be ordered into their units. This was where most of the weapons were held as well.

"The hallways are already on fire, one of the men is keeping an eye on it and the rooms where the guests store their weapons for the visit have already met an accident."

Ryu nodded and open the large war fan designed to give orders to the men, waving the signal for attack. The samurai dispersed, going to the central donjon, which from Ranma's as well as Sohin's depiction of the castle were already ingrained into them. "Seek and destroy, eh?"

"There shouldn't be too much resistance, they're weaponless except for those on-duty."

"I have to hand it to Tendo, for a rookie, the plan is cunning." Ryu laughed as he unsheathed his sword. "It would take a headache to rebuild though."

- 

Yuki squeezed Ifuku's hand as he sat down in the middle of the zabuton made especially for the liege lord of the Narikaido. The platform it rested on was half of his height, so he required a bit of assistance when he stepped to the 'throne'.

On the small stage where the platform rested, one seat was reserved for Chisei. Akane and Ifuku flanked him. They were there for two things, moral support, and defense in case the samurai were more loyal to Chisei than they had anticipated.

The situation created some difficulty for Akane, who was not trained in court and had difficulty keeping her head below Yuki's own. Had Yuki been a full grown man, the platform should have eradicated that small difficulty and allowed them to stand the entire session. Sitting should have solved their problem neatly but servants were not allowed to sit on the platform, which left them kneeling with conscious effort to keep their head bowed low.

When Yuki was settled he gave Chisei a small gesture. "Yuki-sama will grant you audience now. Are there any grievances you would like to air?"

All of those present had their heads bowed low until Chisei had addressed them. Each raised their hand for a right to speak. Chisei would have determined who would have spoken out if Yuki did not hold his hand out to stop her. "I will listen to them all, Aunt Chisei."

Chisei flashed her fan out to hide the sudden flicker of anger at being ordered by a seven year old boy. "We will be here for the entire day if you do that, my lord. I suggest the lords of the Western border."

"Aunt Chisei, I am rarely home. I grant audience to all who wish to speak to me," Yuki said firmly. He looked towards the samurai who journeyed to see him. "I have given my word for their audience."

Chisei shook her head but let everything progress. Akane wondered briefly if she wanted to pick out those who would speak up because it would shorten court time or because there were some things that she'd rather that Yuki not grant or hear.

Most of Yuki's advisers had already told Yuki the state of affairs in Sanuki. Just how much produce is produced, how much koku is handed out to samurai. How many farmers were under his hand. Too much for a boy of seven to remember, but he held his ground as he listened to the complaints.

A good deal of the initial cases were open-and-shut ones that didn't require a good deal of inner workings of the court to solve. The complaints were mainly minor, they needed more koku. They needed to patch their houses. Roads need to be maintained. The dams need to be fortified. All of which Yuki listened to. Yuki granted most of it, but denied an increase in the koku uptake.

"I cannot give out more koku to my samurai. I've seen the reports and we don't produce enough for me to hand over." Yuki gestured towards the walls of the stronghold. "Our cities are not made for rice production, so we cannot make enough for our needs. Our fields are still vastly mishandled. When we sell enough igusa to export and trade into koku, we will start increasing the koku distribution."

The daimyo nodded, bowed, and Yuki turned to look at the southern heads. "I would like to request two towns to dedicate their craft to sea faring. Sanuki was known for its sea faring before my father's time. It would be a waste not to capitalize on it."

"Most of our ship makers have moved on to other shores, my lord," one hatamoto informed him. "We haven't been paying much attention to that side of our industry, there was no need."

"The East Sea Way is a port, and ports that dock ships need facilities to repair these ships. I'm sure the Portuguese did not travel half the world with their ships undamaged." Yuki answered, looking tentatively at Ifuku for support. She nodded slightly, not wishing to make it look like Yuki was dependent on anyone for the answers. "It would be easier for us to trade with the mainland if we have small sea worthy crafts, and the Chinese have their goods as well. We will create the demand on our shores."

"As you wish, my lord. I shall take care of it," the daimyo from the south answered. Yuki smiled, the southern borders were open to the sea, not like the northern borders which, though open to waters, were bordered by the rest of Japan . A Southern port would be good for foreign ships and would also be beneficial if trade with the mainland arose.

Yuki looked at the lords seated before him, noticing no more hands raised. "Does anyone else want an audience?"

There was silence, and Chisei stood to proclaim the court order finished. All of the samurai bowed low enough for their foreheads to touch the ground when one of the samurai seated at the very back raised his hand. "Wait, Aunt Chisei," Yuki said pointing out to the daimyo who had called his attention. "I want to listen to this last person."

"My lord," he started his address straightening up from the low bow. He was old, probably older than Yuki's own father, Yamashina, if he had lived. "We have glossed over our changes in leadership for a long time now. Will you still leave the leadership of the clan to Lady Chisei?"

Yuki steeled his breath for the issue that was brought up. They had not even dealt with more complicated issues of property boundaries and rights to water, but they were tackling the difficult topic of just who would stay as head of the Tendo clan. Not an easy or safe question for the years that Chisei has been ruling.

Chisei turned around abruptly to see who was speaking. "We agreed when Lord Yamashina died that Lord Yuki needed to be at least sixteen when he took over Sanuki. He is still too young to hold court."

"Lord Yuki is doing well now," he countered gravely. "I have supported you up to a time when he could, Lady Chisei. Remember that your time is limited on that throne."

Yuki raised his hand for silence. "I will not question my aunt's right to rule Sanuki for my sake. But I have come to court to clear up what happened twenty years ago."

The silence after the words, all eyes swiveled to Chisei. She said in a calm voice, "My lord, it would be best if the family matters would be discussed as a family."

"I would like to clear it up now, in front of the whole court," Yuki announced slowly. "Who rules Sanuki naturally rules the East Sea Way and therefore the person who rules Sanuki matters to this court."

Chisei raised her eyebrows and looked at the entire court, most of whom were not present before the time that her husband had died twenty years back. "The Tendo patriarch died leaving children for heirs. Lord Yamashina was left as regent for the three children but they fled the island shortly after their father's death. Lord Yamashina stood in for my husband and was gifted with you. He died shortly after producing an heir. He was a very sick man."

"Fled the island, Lady Chisei, or chased out?" one of the figures bowed in front of them asked. Murmurs arose from the samurai kneeling below them.

Chisei slapped her fan shut, glaring at the samurai. "Who are you to question my words?"

The bowed daimyo stood up, revealing his face for Chisei to see. To Chisei's credit, she did not give any outward indication that she recognized Sohin. "I'm hurt that you don't recall me, **mother **," Sohin bit out as he walked towards the platform.

"You lie," Chisei answered, her voice still strong, she turned towards Yuki who was looking at the scene impassively. "You're almost my age. I had no children with my husband."

"True, my father had no children by you. But you cannot deny that I am his child." He unsheathed the Tendo sword holding it high for everyone to see. A sigil long lost from Sanuki's own lands. "This sword was bestowed on his deathbed for his chosen heir. You all knew that Tendo passed down the sword as a sign of leadership."

The murmurs grew louder. There was no doubt about the veracity of the sword. Each of the older samurai had pledged under its blade and kissed its sigil. When it was lost, each new samurai had pledged to find it under Yamashina's hand until he died.

"Uncle Yamashina was loyal to my father, not to you, Chisei. He made sure all of the Tendos knew on whose authority they served under." Sohin brought down the sword and pointed it at Chisei. "Who am I to question you, Chisei?"

He paused so that he was certain all eyes in the assembly were on him when he said the next words, "I am your liege."

- 

The pronouncement, as expected, caused chaos in the court. Murmurs rose from the group of daimyo seated below the dais, and Chisei howled in outrage. She called guards to her, lunging for Yuki immediately, but Ifuku was in front of the boy in an instant, guarding him behind her back.

"You would not want to harm our cousin in front of this court, mother," Ifuku said slowly, her eyes on Chisei's fan. It was not easy to bring a sword in court, but it was easier to bring assassin's weapons, and Chisei could wield a deadly fan. Ifuku had known that much.

Chisei swiveled around and turned to the daimyo who were watching the tableau before them. Some of her honor guard had already started out to reach for Sohin, but Yuki pointed at them and ordered, "Cease!" It was the first time the cousins had seen Yuki holding power. He peeked from behind Ifuku, watching Chisei and the people assembled in the room. He looked up at Ifuku, gave her a smile before turning to his aunt.

"Aunt Chisei, as of this moment, samurai are flooding the inside of the Tendo stronghold. The weapon storage is burning and your samurai are defenseless. All that's left are those of your honor guard, who are in this room, and you," Yuki informed her. As if his words had triggered the events, the alarm for fire was sounded, and the clashing of the few remaining swordsmen was heard outside the room. "Give Eruchii-oniisama what you have snatched from him, aunt."

Chisei flipped her fan and slashed at the boy, but Ifuku had shoved Yuki out of the way and countered with one of the brass candlesticks.

At that moment, samurai also started to move against Sohin, forcing him to take the three that were in the room. Akane gathered Yuki up and ran towards the opening of the room. She looked at the daimyo present, "Why the hell aren't you helping them?"

"Pardon me, my lady, but who exactly are we supposed to help?"

Akane raised her eyebrows in disbelief before opening the locked gates of the courtroom to the waiting samurai outside. It was Ryu who greeted her. "I thought you were never going to open the doors."

* * *

Hefting the cloth that doubled as his backpack, Ranma looked up into the sky to note the direction of the setting sun. He probably couldn't cajole one of the boatmen to bring him to Sanuki this late. 

He looked around the town wondering if he should opt to stay in the comforts of an inn or sleep out in the open. There were a multitude of inns spotting the harbor just waiting for travelers like him, but he didn't know just how much money he needed when he crossed the islands.

Deciding that it would be better if he saved up money, he doubled back towards the road he took earlier that day and found himself a nice secluded spot away from the roadside and the bustling town.

He wasn't hungry, so he didn't bother trying to buy food but nibbled on some of the dried kelp Nabiki prepared for his trek while looking for branches that he could use to start a fire. She had been eager to see him leave and prepared most of the things he needed for the travel even before he knew he was going to embark on it.

He wondered lightly what he was going to make Nabiki do as soon as he got home. He wasn't the vengeful type, but it would be nice if he could see Nabiki squirm over something he did, for once in their lives.

Mindlessly setting up the area for his sleeping arrangements, he deposited the dried branches in a clear spot and started with making a fire. While he set on the routine tasks of setting up camp, his mind wandered to why exactly Nabiki had sent him to Sanuki.

After Nabiki's request to fetch the father of his soon to be nephew, there had been few options left to him.

He left for Sanuki the following morning.

Ranma shook his head at the recollection. Nabiki was the most responsible person he knew. How could she get herself **pregnant **of all things, to someone who she might never see again?

Desperation, perhaps.

Madness, definitely.

He looked at the letter that Nabiki entrusted for him to be delivered and held it up in the light. Nabiki did not seal it so he had the damndest of times pretending he didn't care about the contents.

Finally he kept it in the pocket of his pants. He would find out what it said soon enough.

* * *

Sei entered the gates of the Nerima house with a little trepidation. Although he was sure his uncle would not tell his mother the reason for his brief leave of her, the Ikkasei samurai that was accompanying him would alert her right away of the duplicity. If that didn't alert her, his kimono's symbols would be a glaring sign. And his mother didn't respond well to deceit. 

Other than the fact that he was unsure if his father's samurai would betray his mother's whereabouts to his father, he also did not want to come face-to-face with his mother without talking to his uncle first.

Sei absentmindedly rubbed his father's insignia on his kimono. The design was that of a three hatched circle. The three flames were moving towards the center of the flag. The three flames meant wisdom, heart and power.

The circle was his father's standard symbol or mon, and the paulownia flower was father's liege's symbol. Fortunately, his father had only given him his own symbol to wear and not that of his liege.

Most of the kimonos Sei owned had the Saotome seal so he had not brought them over to Ikkasei land. Instead he had worn an unmarked peasant garb. So before he had left Ikkasei territory, his father gave him the marked kimono. His father's samurai did not want him entering the Saotome household without the brand.

The kimono was earning him stares in his uncle's house already. His father had given him a kimono only worn by a daimyo's immediate family. The symbol was sewn onto both sides of the chest, on both sleeves and a large one was etched at the back. No amount of arm crossing would cover that one.

He steeled his gaze as he entered his uncle's receiving room, both Omokage and his father's samurai slightly behind him. Ranma was seated in front of a low table and a cushion was prepared for Sei to sit in front of. Sei frowned, his uncle was rarely formal even when receiving other dignitaries. His gaze swiveled to his uncle's face, and his puzzled frown froze in its place.

"Seiichi, you've grown," Ranma's voice was warm with welcome, but there was masked anger in it too. He motioned for Sei to take a seat using a fan that he was holding. If Sei had been unsure of who was sitting before him, the fan was proof. Ranma never used a fan, and Nabiki used one to signal people who know about the Jusenkyo curse that she was taking her brother's place.

Dropping his arms from their clenched position, Sei bowed. It had been to show respect, but in part, it had also been to hide his panic. His uncle **never **referred to him using his real name, and his mother only used it when she was angry at him. He had specifically requested Ranma, but apparently, Nabiki was taking his place for the time being. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance, uncle."

"Oh, we were introduced when you were younger, but since it has been some time ago, you must have forgotten it already. It's easy for children to forget their elders." Nabiki-kun smiled congenially. "I received your father's letter informing me of your arrival a month ago. I was so excited I wrote to Ranko, and her reply explained everything about your trip to me. I must say, I was surprised to hear that you were requesting training here. I thought you were already training."

Sei did not want to puzzle out the reprimand in that statement. There would be time for his mother's lectures later. "I wanted to see my mother's home town, and father did say that the Saotomes' were one of the best in martial arts. I would learn from no one but the best."

"Sugoshi-san entrusts me with much," Nabiki-kun commented wryly. It was the first time Sei heard his mother mentioning his father's name in years. Nabiki turned to the Ikkasei samurai. "Could I have a private word with my nephew? I want to test his skills and I think it would be best if Saotome secrets remain between Saotomes."

"With all due respect, Saotome-sama, Sugoshi-sama has entrusted Sei-sama to me--"

Nabiki-kun cut off his explanation mid-way. "If Sugoshi-san didn't want to entrust Sei's well being to me, then he might as well have kept his boy home." She turned towards Omokage. "The samurai who announced your arrival mentioned your name was Omokage?"

Sei had to admire his mother's ability to remember all the identities that they needed to keep from the Ikkasei samurai. He had already forgotten that Nabiki wasn't supposed to know who Omokage was, much less that he was supposed to be a fisherman. Omokage nodded and Nabiki continued, "I'm sure you must be tired and hungry from the long travel. The samurai outside the doors will lead you to the dining area."

"Thank you, my lord." He moved out of the room followed by the reluctant Ikkasei samurai.

As soon as the room was clear, and they could not hear their visitors' footsteps on the tatami Nabiki approached Sei. Before he could speak, she slapped him lightly on the face. "How could you think that someone else is more important to me than you are?"

Nabiki-kun kneeled in front of him and wrapped his arms around the boy, a direct counterpoint to the blow. "I killed Kodachi not just because of my brother; I killed her because she was hurting you. And I was willing to die not because of that foolish man you tried to save, I was willing to die because I wanted you to be able to reclaim what leaving the Ikkaseis lost you.

"You act so much like an adult that I keep forgetting you are a child after all. If I would loose you, I wouldn't know what I'd do." Nabiki's voice was teetering on the edge of tears.

"I'm sorry, mother," Sei whispered. "But you were cruel too. You can't just decide to die because of me. It would scar me for life."

Nabiki cracked a smile. She'd forgotten that Sei's humor was unusual and was roused at the oddest of times. "Don't ever scare me like that again."

"As long as you never scare me like that again," Sei responded in kind.

Nabiki released her son. "It's a promise then. Okaeri (1), Sei."

"Tadaima (2), okaasan," Sei responded in kind. "I'm home."

* * *

Ranma didn't know what to expect when he arrived in Sanuki. He'd seen enough battles to see how such conflicts could swallow up small cities, so he had been prepared for the worst. 

But Sanuki seemed fine, if a bit neglected. The harbor continued with trade, the shops were open, and there were no signs of blood and smoke that usually came with takeovers.

Ranma wondered mildly if the Tendos reached the shores of Sanuki. So when he reached the gates, he wondered just who he should ask for. Dressed in his usual Chinese shirt and pants, he didn't look like he was more than an ordinary peasant making his way. He didn't know if the samurai would even tell Tendo, whoever that may be at the moment, that there was a straggler requesting audience.

Sometimes, he wished he didn't make too many impulsive decisions. Coming alone in the island without an entourage was easier for travel, but gave him difficulty with accessibility.

He bowed at the samurai standing watch at the side gate. "I have a message for Lord Sanuki," Ranma announced holding out the thin parchment that was entrusted to him in the air. He'd never really used the land as a title before, but it seemed more apt. "From Lord Sagami."

"I will deliver the message to my lord," the samurai informed him.

'Right,' Ranma thought. 'Accessibility.' "It's a private message which Saotome-sama wishes me to deliver in person. I would like an audience with the lord."

"Surrender your weapons." the samurai commanded as he knocked at the heavy door, a small panel opened as another samurai studied the situation.

"I have no weapons," Ranma declared as he held out the bag for inspection spreading his arms so that the samurai could confirm his statement. When the guard was satisfied that he was not carrying anything, the guard knocked on the heavy doors again. Another guard from the other side of the gates escorted him through the fortress.

The Tendo Donjon was still, it didn't have the bustling vitality that the donjons of Happosai exuded. The samurai were silent in the shadows, and there were no ladies of court flitting about the gardens. Four of the inner towers were being reconstructed, as if a fire had ravaged it. Ranma frowned as he took those in, wondering what part the towers had played in the Tendo's recapture of their keep.

Ranma sighed as he was brought to one of the waiting rooms. With Sanuki just regaining power he might have a long wait ahead of him.

- 

Regaining the stronghold was the easiest part of the mission, Sohin soon found out. It was reestablishing himself as head of the clan and cleaning up the mess they left behind that was going to be a bit difficult.

He replaced most of the samurai serving directly under Chisei with samurai that were loyal to his uncle and to his uncle's heir, Yuki. When that was established, he had to change his councilors and judge which of the daimyo under him were still loyal. Currently, he was using the samurai Saotome had lent him to weed out those that he could not trust, and used them as his primary guard before he finally picked out those who would serve him.

He sent out messengers to those he had contacted on the islands about his regaining his father's place and sent out more letters to those who were in exile.

That done he had to visit the lands and see to what they were doing and what happened during the last twenty years. He'd been trained to become liege and he'd been trained to become samurai but he'd never had experience leading, so Ifuku suggested something that he was reluctant to accept: Take a wife that was high born enough to teach him the rest of the things that he didn't know.

He already set most of what he needed to do in motion except Ifuku's suggestion. He wondered if he was ever going to be desperate enough to take that choice.

And he still needed to do something about Chisei. And make the people outside of the samurai caste recognize him. Something easier said than done.

Before he could ponder more on the situation a samurai knocked briefly and announced his visitor. "There is a messenger from Sagami downstairs, my lord."

Sohin stood up. He'd expected a message from the Saotomes, but not a little over a week after he retook Sanuki from Chisei. Although the position was secure, the samurai acknowledging him, it was the people he was worried about. And he didn't know if he could fulfill his duties.

Waving the thoughts aside he was led to the room where the messenger waited and was surprised to find Ranma Saotome himself in the room. He smiled as he crossed the threshold.

Whatever his reasons for coming, the Saotomes had shown them hospitality when they were on their lands, and he'd not have it if Saotome was not given the same treatment now that he was on Tendo's own lands.

- 

"I expected a messenger, I didn't expect the head of the Saotome House to come calling," Sohin said as looked at Ranma. Ranma inclined his head in acknowledgement flicking the letter his sister had sent him. Sohin looked surprised as he caught it just behind his ear. "So this isn't a state call then, you came here for someone else."

He would travel to Sanuki for no one else than Nabiki, and on some level, Sohin understood that. He scanned the letter before resting his eyes on Ranma and noticed for the first time the anger in his eyes.

"You came here for the wrong reasons, Saotome-san," Sohin said slowly folding the paper carefully, giving Ranma careful consideration. "My siblings and I have regained Sanuki through court. My cousin and current heir will be cared for in Sanuki by my sisters."

Ranma faltered briefly at the name to call the Tendo liege wondering if he should call him Sohin, the name he knew him as, Eruchii the name he was born with or Sanuki, the name of the land he was tasked with. In the end, he settled for none. "You may have a son for an heir," Ranma enunciated slowly, wondering if Nabiki mentioned that in her letter at all.

Sohin smiled as he gestured towards the gardens abandoning the rooms and moving towards the open air. "I've heard so much of the Saotome Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. That's the only thing they could sing praises to while in Sagami."

Ranma balled his hand into a fist, hating the polite indifference that Sohin was using. 'It didn't take long for him to get accustomed to all of the liege lord crap,' Ranma thought as he followed. 

When they got to the gardens Sohin faced Ranma. "Would you care to fight me?"

It wasn't unusual for Sohin to challenge Ranma to a fight. Most liege lords liked to pit everything against their guests, Ranma couldn't count the times he's had to play go or pretend to think of a poem on the spot. Thankfully Nabiki had always penned down something for the poems before hand. Sometimes, lords do it to save face, find a way to get something without asking for it. Ranma regarded Sohin coolly. "I wouldn't care to, no. But do I have a choice?"

"I don't know," Sohin answered truthfully, breaking into a smile. "You've been longer in this daimyo business than I have."

"Not the best time to look inexperienced Tendo-san," Ranma cautioned as he unshouldered his pack and set it down on the dirt before sliding his hands on his pockets, crossing one foot over the other in a relaxed stance. "When I win, will you come with me?"

"Whether you win or lose, someone will accompany you back to Sagami," Sohin answered amused. "Your win will decide just who will accompany you."

- 

Ifuku's knock on her door had been so frantic that Akane thought they were under attack by some insurgent group rallying under Chisei's banner. When Akane opened them to admit her sister inside Ifuku waved pleasantries, clasped her hands and all but dragged her towards the gardens.

The sound of fighting registered with Akane even before she saw the combatants. There was no mistaking the sound of flesh against flesh, and the sounds were graphic enough even without seeing it.

When she stepped out in the porch her eyes adjusting from the dimness of the house towards the well-lit grounds, she had to catch up with the blurs that were no doubt fighting. This was emphasized by the grunts and the hits.

"Who--" Akane started to ask.

"Eruchii-oniisama," Ifuku said as she followed the blurs with trained precision, already reverting to their old names for the house. "He received a caller some time ago, a samurai just informed me."

Akane had never imagined that Sohin -- Eruchii -- could move this fast. She could barely follow what was happening. She frowned, her eyebrows knitting. Sohin's competition had his back to her, but there was no mistaking the red shirt or the pigtail. Her sharp intake of breath alerted Ifuku that she began to suspect who it was.

"They're evenly matched," Ifuku commented as Ranma rebounded off one tree to hit Sohin, who had already evaded and was moving for a counter-attack. "I've never imagined that the style oniisama practiced was so close to Saotome-sama's own."

"Sohin -- his moves are fast and there's a lot of power behind those punches," Akane assessed, wanting to focus on the fight instead of the people fighting. "If this turns out to be an endurance match, Ranma might not win."

Ifuku watched closely when Ranma evaded Sohin's blow neatly following up with a foot swipe on his own, which sent Sohin stumbling. "Oniisama might not be able to hit him though. Saotome-sama is too fast for solid hits. Eruchii-oniisama barely manages to clip him before Saotome-sama dances away and counters."

"Who's faster?" Akane asked as she watched the fight progress, feeling like her heart had stopped. She didn't know what would happen if Ranma lost. She didn't know what would happen if Ranma won either.

Ifuku frowned, she was used to watching lightning fast moves, after all, she had spent most of her childhood in the Saotome household. And this was her brother that Ranma was fighting. "Saotome-sama. Onii-sama is larger than Saotome-sama and therefore only needs an arm's length to hit Saotome-sama. Therefore, Saotome-sama compensates by moving faster. Saotome-sama is shorter than a lot of people, hence his speed training."

As if to prove her words, Sohin recovered from the blow and came face-to-face against Ranma. They delivered a blow at the same time, emphasizing the fact that Ranma's reach was indeed shorter than Sohin's own. Ranma received the blow, recovered and rushed against Sohin again, managing to put Sohin down.

"They're not using chi blasts," Akane observed as the fight continued, with Sohin back-flipping to stand up. They broke apart, a moment's respite to reassess each other's fighting style.

Instead of re-engaging, Sohin bowed, signaling an end of the duel. "They don't sing false praises of you in Nerima. You are as good as they say."

"I **am **the best in Sagami," Ranma said half in pride, half in irritation. "You should come down there when you have free time. If you challenge Ikkasei for Nabiki's hand you would give him a good run for his money."

Sohin laughed and motioned for his two sisters to approach them. Akane had not realized that he had noticed their presence and was reluctant to go, but Ifuku tugged her along. Ranma didn't look towards them, his eyes still trained on Sohin. "What does this mean, Sanuki?"

"You claimed similarities in our style when I was a mere peasant at your doorstep, Saotome. I understand it now that I've fought with you." He beckoned for Akane, and his hands settled lightly on her shoulder. "It would be a waste not to reunite the two schools as my father has undoubtedly planned before me."

Akane swiveled around glaring at her brother shaking her head in defiance. "He's **already **married."

"Is he?" Sohin asked inclining his head towards Ranma. He didn't give Ranma the chance to answer by addressing Ifuku, "Shori, please arrange for the maids to have Saotome-san's accommodations for the night. Both he and Akane will leave tomorrow."

"What about Nabiki?" Ranma asked.

"Nabiki's wishes have already been seen to," Sohin said as he handed Nabiki's letter to Ranma. "Excuse me, I have to see to Chisei before the day is over."

Before either Ranma or Akane could protest, the brother and sister walked back towards the house leaving the two of them alone. They both stood in silence before Ranma finally relented and took out a small item wrapped in brown paper. "I was going to give this to you as a farewell gift, but everything happened all at once. I never had the chance."

Akane looked at the small item with uncertainty. Sagami certainly seemed like a lifetime away. She opened the package slowly her hands alighting on the small lotus pin that she showed interest in when they walked around the marketplace of Kamakura .

She held it up to examine it closely. It was worked silver with cut sapphires. An extravagance that she wouldn't have bought on her own. She had thought the bridal comb had been enough.

"I'm sorry things didn't work out, Akane," Ranma apologized before turning towards the house and disappearing in the hallways.

Before he could turn around completely, Akane caught his sleeve. "I'm sorry too." With that she fled towards the inner sanctum of the Tendo donjon.

- 

Ranma pulled out Nabiki's letter from his pocket knowing that he had no idea where to go in a foreign house, having been left behind by all of the Tendo siblings and with no one in the nearest vicinity to ask for directions. He stopped just inside the corridors that led to the gardens, hefting his pack lightly against his shoulder and leaning against the wall, to open Nabiki's letter with one hand.

Lord Eruchii Tendo,

My brother will be a little angry and more than a bit tired when he gets there. He might be a bit unreasonable as well. He thinks I am with your child, a notion which I leave you to correct.

My cousin's husband was included in the Saotome samurai to assist you in Sanuki. I would appreciate it if word could be sent to him that his wife, at the moment of this writing, is two months pregnant. The expedition to Sanuki had left before there were any signs. If my calculation is right, his swift return might get him home in time for the birthing.

I would be in your debt if you would welcome my brother into your house and challenge him to a fight. As liege you can grant him anything -- if you deem his performance worthy enough. It is a common occurrence in samurai households so that the upper class doesn't lose face when giving something away.

I sent him to you so that he could cool his head away from home. Kodachi has died under Saotome blade. I find that I can't stand my brother being besotted while shouting at half of the household because he can't get what he wants.

Thank you for your time Lord Tendo, and I wish you well.

If he asks, the 'condition' that prevents me from traveling isn't anatomical in nature, but an order from our liege.

The note was unsigned.

Ranma crumpled the note as soon as he read it. He didn't quite know if it was because his sister had tricked him, something which he had been anticipating but still hadn't quite been ready for, or because she had just described him besotted and probably tempered herself not to include 'spoilt child' in the process.

Condition. Ranma's eyes almost crossed at the wording. Happosai had ordered Nabiki to remain within the confines of Ranma's ruling land while she was in the Tokaido. Those conditions kept her from traveling.

He might have misheard some of the words while they were talking, and he certainly misinterpreted it. And Nabiki never wasted an opportunity. Sometimes he wished he could strangle her.

"So, Saotome, it seems your sister has sent you to fetch a bride," Sohin said when Ranma finally finished reading the note. Ranma looked up to see Sohin stepping out of the shadows.

She hadn't worded it that way. She hadn't even implied marriage of any sort, but it had been obvious enough. "So it seems," Ranma answered irked by the fact that Nabiki couldn't leave things alone. "Why did you give your sister to me?"

"Saotome, I just gave you my permission to take her," Sohin answered slowly. "It's up to her to leave with you."

Ranma nodded. Since Akane had not been his mission when he traveled to Sanuki, he would not mind whether or not she came along with him. He would not be able to provide for her since good fighters make poor husbands. Being samurai wasn't for rearing families. Fighters die young and die hard. They lived by the sword, and they'll die by the sword. "I'll be out of your hair tomorrow, Sanuki."

- 

As soon as Ranma found his room, he saw Ryu waiting for him outside. Ranma raised an eyebrow as he entered the lit room and dumped the traveling bag that contained his things near the entrance before waving Ryu in.

Ranma took some tea that had been served earlier in a low table and gulped it down, weary from the travel and finding out that the entire business of Nabiki tricking him had left a sour taste in his mouth.

As soon as he set the ceramic cup down Ranma started, "Send word to Takashi that his wife is going to deliver a baby soon." Ranma noted the surprise on Ryu's face before he smiled in acknowledgement.

"Wouldn't you want to inform him yourself?" Ryu asked. Had it come from another samurai, it could have sounded impertinent. But Ryu was not Ranma's subordinate, he was Happosai's, and thus they were almost equal in standing. That and the fact that most of those equal to Ranma had a certain disdain for hierarchy. "If I recall, he's a distant cousin of yours. It makes you an uncle."

On any other occasion, Ranma might have agreed, but he was still a little irked over Nabiki's use of his cousin for deception. That, and sometimes, when people are happy, they forget the misery of other people around them. Ranma didn't think he could handle either sympathy or his own jealousy, so he decided to stay away.

"I'm not sure if I should announce my presence here," Ranma said instead. "It would go against what Tendo has achieved if I make him look weak now. What would it look like if they find out that majority of the samurai holding his court are Saotomes?"

Ryu nodded his head in agreement. "Are there any more orders?"

"I'll wait for your full report on what happened here in Nerima," Ranma said, he didn't want to think about the politics between the Tendos and the Saotomes, so he put it off until later. "I could spare samurai to stay here until Tendo could get a few men who are trustworthy, and his hold more stable. I've been relieved of land, so I don't need as much samurai as I've been using. Six months should do.

"Happosai has not looked for me?"

Ranma smirked. At best the Saotome house was an informal court, the samurai were allowed liberty as long as they followed their liege and came when summoned. "Nabiki took care of it. As for your return, I don't need to remind you to be careful about crossing Ikkasei territory. We have strained relations with them, so just try to break the samurai into small groups before returning. I trust everything went well."

"Yes, Sei-sama was surprisingly adept in handling the situation."

Ranma winced as he was reminded of another thing he had to deal with when he got home. Nabiki might just decide kill him for risking his son in the small expedition. "I imagine he would be. He was trained well. That would be all, Ryu."

Ryu bowed in respect before he left to follow his orders.

Ranma sighed as he looked at the empty guest room. He really needed to think of a way to get back at Nabiki for this entire mess.

- 

Sohin went down to the dungeons passing the guards who were stationed there. Traditionally, there were no holding cells in castles, but that was amended long ago. It helped keep the prisoners at least.

He snorted at the Portuguese influence and moved towards his step mother. She was held in place by two guards, her hands tied behind her back, but her feet were free for movement and she stood up to meet him if only because she hated tilting her head up to meet a superior's eyes.

"Hello, mother," Sohin whispered taking note of Chisei's state of dress. Her lavish white kimono, imprinted with the Tendo crest in gold threads, was marred with smudges of black from the travel towards the holding cell. The red rouge that she used on her lips was smeared across her face. She spat out to him in greeting.

"We could have lived here. Together. I would have never asked you to leave Sanuki. Why did you force us out?" the question had been twenty years in the making. It would grant him closure if not peace.

"You are not my son," Chisei shrieked.

Sohin tilted his head as he looked at her. She was just five years older than he was. She had been young when his father had died, too young to have taken the burden of leading the entire clan at such a young age.

She should have been too young to be power hungry as well. But then, age could only dampen that much greed, and age could only whittle so much of what was already there to begin with. "I revered you like a mother, I loved you like a sister. Have you bedded anyone since father's death?"

She looked away, and it suddenly dawned in Sohin that she probably tried to. At least within the month that his father died, just to gain a male heir and pass it as his father's own. "Do I have a stepbrother I need to know about?"

"If I had someone to save me from your clutches, do you honestly think that I would tell **you **?" Chisei spat out vehemently.

"No," Sohin answered slowly drawing nearer. Chisei was too smart for that. He inclined his head in thought. "But you never knew I would be coming, so he would have been here, in the lap of luxury, given the things that you did not want to bestow onto Yuki."

There was a long pause of silence. "You're barren, aren't you mother?" She gave a small whimper. "For two years my father visited your bed and not once did you conceive."

"I was **thirteen **, you idiot," Chisei shouted back at him. "Of course it wouldn't have been my child bearing years."

A small smile played on Sohin's lips. "But your parents arranged the marriage, gave their consent, you were already visited by the monthly bleeding. And the fact remains that even after thirty years you have yet to conceive a child."

Because he was so close to her, the first slash of her comb against his eyes surprised him. Later, Sohin would laugh at the thought that a comb would do the damage that cost him his sight. Now, he flinched back as the two samurai held Chisei back gripping the hands that had escaped the rope through her comb.

"Yes, Tendo-noh-Eruchii, I am barren. And yes, I have tried to conceive numerous times after your father's death, if only to provide me with companionship." There was a long telling pause. "But now, I have robbed you of your sight and you will never know your wife's face. May that scar repulse all those women who would want to bequeath you children."

With that, she impaled herself on one of the samurai's drawn swords.

Sohin cursed when he was informed of the outcome, his eyes stinging in pain. "Get me sake to dull the pain and someone to clean Chisei's body."

With that he promptly passed out.

- 

Because Ranma was bone-weary from having traveled straight to Sanuki without rest, he had decided to impose and use the donjon's bath house to clean the dirt of travel. It had helped to ease his mind and his body from the fact that his sister tricked him to get there and Sohin challenged him to a fight as soon as he stepped over the threshold.

He had thought he would have a day to rest his feet before setting out for Nerima, but seeing he was here on a non-errand, he was left with nothing but to go back home and try to pretend to make Nabiki squirm.

And here was another problem waiting in his room. Akane's old bodyguard, someone who reminded her precisely of her husband, Ryoga, was standing on the entrance to his guest room. There were certain disadvantages to everyone knowing where you were sleeping.

Ranma wondered if he should just offer the man to break his bones and be done with it. Ranma tilted his head in acknowledgment as he opened the door to his room. "And what might I do for my lady's honor guard?"

"Lady Akane cannot be married to someone like you," Ryouhei's displeasure on that note was palpable. Ranma wondered how long Ryouhei had served under Akane to give him the right to scare off her suitors. "She should have a marriage on equal footing."

"I always thought that Sagami equaled Sanuki. If not in land then in koku intake," Ranma pointed out, irritated that his ability to provide for her had been questioned. "And you're just her guard, not her father. This shouldn't concern you."

"It concerns me when the choices that are set before her are poor," Ryouhei countered. That much arrogance could only mean that Akane let him get away with much when Ryouhei served her. It was born of both length of service and tacit trust.

"I never knew that being Lord of Sagami was not enough to woo the hand of Sanuki's lady." Ranma muttered. He understood a challenge when he saw one, and Ryouhei would have taken his fist to Ranma's throat if he could have gotten away with it.

"Akane-sama is sister to a kokushiu, you are merely a tozama," Ryouhei boasted, carefully watching Ranma's surprise. Kokushiu, a Lord of the Province, it was a title that equaled Happosai's own. No wonder Ryouhei would not settle for an outside lord like Ranma, it just wasn't of equal standing.

Ranma inclined his head in acknowledgement. "I am leaving tomorrow. I guess you have fewer complaints about that."

Ryouhei crossed the room with those words. As soon as he was side by side with Ranma he cautioned, "As long as we understand each other." After a threatening glare, Ryouhei left. Through the window.

"What do you know, someone who actually knows how to use these things," Ranma muttered, opening the window wider, allowing the cooling breeze of spring to waft in.

Ranma sighed as he started preparing his futon. It had been half finished in the middle of the room, and presumably, the maid who had started unrolling it had been asked to step out by Ryouhei.

He mulled about his brand new engagement. As much as Sohin had given him the easy way out of the ordeal, he hadn't wanted to learn that she would willingly stay instead of go back. That decision would destroy him. He had seen her with her siblings, and they were treating her well.

And Ryouhei brought up a valid point, Eruchii held a higher standing in court. What could Ranma offer to someone like Akane? His own fief might have equaled Sanuki, but not the entire Narikaido. He didn't know what to do about it, so he went about dealing with it the only way he knew how: ignoring it. Hoping it would pass.

He was about to snuff out the lights when someone entered the room. Assuming it was the maid, Ranma waved his hand dismissively. "I don't need anything."

"Sorry," was the fast reply.

Ranma turned around, immediately recognizing Akane's voice and snagged her arm before she ducked back out of his room. He looked her over before letting her go. She was wearing one of the kimonos he commissioned for her. The blues hadn't set well in Kodachi's coloring making the woman look almost yellow, but it complemented Akane, letting her hair almost shimmer. "What did you want?"

"I was afraid you were going to leave without letting me talk to you," Akane whispered as she moved towards the inner room, still not used to the house.

"It would only be fair, seeing that's how I dealt with you," Ranma told her uncertainly. Wondering, not for the first time, how she was settling in her new life.

She closed her eyes in recollection, and he winced at his mistake. He had the uncanny ability of starting a fight without even talking. "Go back to your wife, Ranma. You don't need another one, and you have made it perfectly clear that you wouldn't take any other."

He wondered if he should tell her the truth now, as she stepped away from him. She had made it so easy, his pride made it so difficult. She was almost out of the door before he managed to admit, "Kodachi has been dead for some time now."

She turned around, and the glimmer of hope there was almost painful to watch. But she didn't approach him, and he couldn't bring himself to walk to her. "Did you come here for me?"

"No," the answer was swift, because it was a truth. And because it was true, it hurt her. Sometimes a lie was better than a truth, but Ranma had always been blunt in his dealings with her.

He sent her with Sohin because of Kodachi, and when Kodachi died, he had been honor bound to see to it that the Tendos would arrive in Sanuki as the three heirs. After that, there was no way he could knock at the doors of Sanuki to ask for Akane. It asked too much from his pride to do so.

More so now that Ryouhei has enlightened him about their positions in life.

"Explain it to me," Akane pleaded. She walked towards him, touching his hand briefly, as if a longer touch would brand her. "I want to understand."

He left her side to look out of the window of his room. It afforded a view of the river and some of the flickering lights of the village. He couldn't think about the question so he thought about the town. It was not so different from Sagami. Sanuki was certainly mishandled, but since Tendo seemed to be competent, he might make a bustling town of it yet. "You have a beautiful place here," he evaded the question, the conversation with Ryouhei fresh on his mind.

"Why do both you and Sohin do that?" Akane whispered slowly not willing to let it go, her knuckles white as her hands clasped each other. "Try to protect people that could protect themselves. Try to make decisions that aren't theirs to make. Hurt people without even trying."

Ranma wanted to reach out to clasp her hands and had turned around to do so, but stopped short when he saw her. Pain that exposed was raw. He didn't know if he could do anything to heal it. He had never been good at comfort. It was an action that hadn't entered into his marriage. "I can't explain things I don't understand, Akane."

Akane reached for him, demanding the kiss that had sealed a multitude of promises for them. Her lips connected with his cheek, and her eyes blinked open.

"Don't," Ranma said belatedly as he backed away from her.

Knees collapsing, Akane bent on the tatami. She had known that his rejection was going to hurt. She just didn't realize how potent a drug it was. "Don't what?" Akane asked brokenly, wanting to hear the words so that she could put everything behind them.

"Kiss me," Ranma supplied putting his weight entirely on the wall, looking just as broken as Akane was at the moment. "Not if you don't really mean it... not if you want another goodbye. I've used up all my goodbyes."

An eternity passed.

When pain breaks for Akane, it gives way into anger. And its first stirrings in her heart were welcome. Anger was an emotion she could handle. "Then why give me a moment to carry for forever if you weren't going to do anything about it? Why hand out false hope?"

'Because it had been a kindness?' But that would have been the wrong answer. 'Because I needed it too?' or 'Because I thought I could keep you then.' Instead he settled for, "Why don't you tell me?"

She stared at him disbelieving, as if he'd asked the moon and the stars from her. "I asked you because your answer would mean something to me. I can't try to explain what you--" she cut herself off with a slashing gesture as she paced around the room.

Ranma watched her move around wondering, 'Is she ever going to focus all of that energy for anything other than --' he stopped the thought abruptly and pulled her hand. "Come on."

She followed him, although bewildered at the sudden shift the conversation was taking. "Where are we --" she stopped the sentence as Ranma stepped out of the window and jumped. To her, their window seemed like the third floor of her high school.

She should have been accustomed to his habit of jumping off windows, especially after the inauguration, but she was still surprised at his route and just as surprised that they were still in one piece. Ranma set her down gently. He was always gentle with her. "What were you thinking of again?"

"You jumped from your room to resume the conversation in the middle of the garden?" Akane asked as she looked around her. The house was quiet, and the only other people in the garden were the samurai who were tasked to guard it at night. They gave her a wide berth after the initial surprise of their drop.

"Yeah," Ranma said as he faced her giving her space. Knowing that it would goad her into a fight he said, "What are you going to do about it Akane?"

She threw a punch and Ranma's frown broke into a grin. He evaded all punches neatly. If there was one thing more frustrating than trying to get rid of anger, it was trying to get rid of anger when your punching bag wouldn't stay put. "Damn it, if it weren't for this kimono, you'd be sprawling on your ass right now, Saotome."

Ranma's eyebrows rose at her language and he faltered by almost letting her hit him. He executed a double flip before landing on a branch of a tree a few feet above ground. "So get rid of it. I'll stay here until you change."

Akane scowled at him but went towards the porch undoing the ties on her knees. She hated that part about the kimono. Shoes were taken from a set that was under the small hallway. She untied the obi and let it drop on the wooden elevation before tossing the kimono down with it.

She was wearing gauze, similar to what Nabiki used to bind her breasts when she was going to be fighting, and some Chinese pants she probably pilfered from the safe house before she left. He raised his eyebrow in question. "The peasant's garb was useful but you were the only one I knew in this godforsaken island that had gartered pants, and I am absolutely not going to wear that kimono around you without them."

"You were expecting we'd fight?" Ranma asked confused as he jumped down from his branch.

Akane inclined her head. "I wanted a skirt. I wanted freer movement, but I guess pants will have to do." She lunged for him again, not expecting to connect. She didn't. She wanted to shout out her frustration. She managed to do it in a battle cry.

If Akane thought about it more, she would have realized that there was a pattern to Ranma's movements, a repetitiveness to the way he was forcing her to move in her offensive, always ending with her solid punch towards his gut which she managed to miss. Suddenly, in the middle of all of the lunging and kicking, Ranma stopped, providing Akane with a clear hit.

"Yama Arashi!"

- 

Ranma blinked his eyes open in the middle of the branches of some unknown tree while some sort of search went on around him. He shook his head to clear it. He must have been out for a little while. "That's my girl," he said tiredly.

He had known for some time now that the only reason she couldn't execute the move was that she didn't know how to get enough energy to wield it. That and every time that she did get the energy, she always managed to think through it or convince herself that she wasn't going to hit.

Chi wielding wasn't about logic, it was about instinct. You have believe strongly enough that it was going to hit as well. Ranma managed to find a way to make her think she was going to hit... which was to hand her a non-moving object in the first place, but he hadn't found out how to tap that energy. Until now.

Well now he knew just how powerful her chi blasts could be. He just wished that he hadn't been blown away that far. Collecting himself, he jumped down the tree and leaned heavily against its trunk. 'Deciding to meet a chi blast head on isn't the best of my ideas.' His nerve endings were all screaming in pain.

"So... you've finally managed to teach me to control my chi," Akane said slowly, her breath coming in gasps, unused at the energy expenditure that the chi blast asked of her. From the way her voice carried, he knew she was standing on the other side probably leaning on its trunk too.

He wondered if he was going to be able to pull himself together without seeming like he was hurt too much. He had received worse before, but it didn't mean that it hadn't left him in pain. "Congratulations. Consider this graduation."

He shoved off from the tree hoping that he was aiming for the correct general direction, hopping down the tree in more jumps than his body cared for, knowing that in his condition, he couldn't do it in one. Akane shuffled after him. "If you leave here, we're probably never going to see each other again."

"When I leave here, we're never going to see each other again," he corrected her. Ranma's pace were measured and slow as they moved back towards the house. "This is the second time you've executed the move. I'm guessing that by this time, you actually know how to elicit it consciously. Chi becomes easier to use when you use it often. It becomes reflex, which is why after this try you should be able to control it better. Like the sword, it should never be unsheathed unless you want to use it."

The silence rang in the air. One of the samurai spotted them and with Akane's nod, they were all sent back to their posts. The initial use for them, finding Ranma, was now gone. "Variations could be made in time, but you have to master what you know now before you try any of that. Chi is very deadly to an opponent if you wish it to be. It should never be used unless you think you cannot beat your opponent any other way. Do you understand?"

"I could use small amounts in practice, but never use any of it in real life unless I want blood on my hands. I understand," Akane whispered. He had just literally handed her a gun.

"Chi doesn't necessarily kill but..." He heaved a long sigh. "It's a long process, just be responsible."

"So it's come to this then," Akane commented as they approached the porch, picking up her discarded kimono and shrugging it on. "The only thing we'll talk about is martial arts."

Ranma took the obi and helped her with it, looping it around her waist. "Could we manage to stop fighting enough to talk about anything else?"

Akane licked her suddenly dry lips as Ranma finished up with the obi, his hand lingering on her hip. "If I tell you what you want to hear will you tell me about Kodachi's death?"

Ranma spun her around, so that she was face to face with him, a small smile playing on his features. "And what is it that I want to hear, Akane?"

Akane took one swallow, a breath for confidence before letting the words rush out with her shaky breath, "That I love you."

He let her go. "You can't love me. I have trouble believing anyone could love me." He leaned against the porch post, his arms crossed in front of him. "I believe in family, in friendship and that there is need and there is desire but there is never love."

"If not that then what will you believe?" Akane asked abandoning the pretense of straightening her kimono. Akane brought her hand to steady Ranma's face and keep it level with her own. "It's my only truth."

But he shook his head, gently removing her hand. He bowed politely to her. "Goodnight, my lady."

* * *

Ryouhei watched Akane as he had watched her for most of his life. She was the strongest person he knew, but she was all but broken because of Saotome. He would have snorted in disgust, and he should have been happy that Ranma had left her when he set out early that morning, but her pain was great enough to bleed into his heart has well. 

He had never seen her with this much pain.

_I wish I could make you happy. _

_I wish you could make me happy too. _

Had he made a mistake because he didn't want to lose his mistress a second time? He could have been her protector if she chose Saotome, but he knew, in his heart of hearts that his role would have been redundant. Saotome would care for her, and Ryouhei would be relegated in the background.

Sohin, using Yuki as a guide stepped beside Ryouhei listening to the unshed tears of his sister. Ryouhei hadn't known that those tears shouted despair louder than wreaking sobs.

A soft sigh escaped from Sohin as he cocked his head to the side. "I expected a bit of stupidity from him, I didn't expect it from **her **."

Ryouhei's hackles rose at the criticism, but Ifuku, who was behind Sohin spoke before he could interrupt. "You expected them to be stubborn, oniisama. They aren't that much different from Nabiki-sama."

"Manipulative and scheming?" Sohin smiled as he angled his head towards Ifuku.

"Not good at handling emotions," Ifuku quipped.

Yuki had abandoned his post as a crutch and sat beside Akane silently, doing what all three adults had failed to do. He shed her tears for her. His soft sobs echoed in the silence of the room.

"She's never going to get the courage to face him again if we don't let her go," Sohin said softly. "She has never been yours, so lend her the courage to face her own destiny."

Red hot anger burst from Ryouhei. How dare this man accuse him of keeping her here? He had not barred her from leaving.

_It concerns me when the choices set before her are poor, _words spoken in panic and anger.

But before he could retort, Sohin strode into the room. The newly blind liege did not fumble, his steps were slow, but he managed to stop right beside Yuki who had held out a hand to him.

Sohin knelt down, softly wiped Yuki's tear-stained cheeks on his sleeve before turning towards Akane, groping for her hands before she reached out for him. "Don't make me an excuse to stay, Akane. I've always had Shori and Yuki with me. You on the other hand... you belong with him more than you belong with us."

"How could you ask that of me?" Akane asked, and although her voice didn't break, her heart did. "You need me here."

"I needed you here," Sohin corrected.

Ifuku sat down beside Sohin. "Akane, you promised to carry one moment forever," she paused waiting for Akane to look at her. "It's sad when forever lasts a little over two months."

"You're turning me out. Me. Your **sister **." Akane realized with incredulity, looking at her two siblings with shock and disappointment.

Sohin shook his head. "I offered your hand in marriage. It is still your choice to walk away or not. We just don't want you to choose something out of lost pride."

_I wish I could make you happy. _

Ryouhei stepped forward. Ifuku, Akane and Sohin turned their attention towards him. He stood before Akane and then bowed respectfully at her before kneeling in front of her. "I can't make you happy here. But though I am loath to admit it, he could."

"He left me," Akane pointed out.

"You let him go," Ifuku said softly.

"I can't take another rejection."

"Oneesama." Yuki sniffled before he continued, "You would always be welcome in the House of Tendo. But please, try for happiness this one last time."

And Ryouhei let her go.

- 

Ranma decided that after this little trip to Sanuki, he was going to rest up for an entire month and stop traveling. He cursed darkly when he missed a branch from tree hopping. He landed on his feet, but he cursed nonetheless. He hadn't missed a tree hop since that cherry blossom incident in China -- and that entire neko-ken business back in Happosai's donjon.

"Ranma," someone behind him whispered. "I thought I missed you. You were here all along."

Ranma whirled around spotting Akane on the dusty road. He hadn't been paying enough attention below the tree-line to notice her. "Did I forget something?" he asked unsure why she was going after him.

"Yeah," she said stepping forward. "Me."

Ranma closed his eyes at that, not knowing how to respond to the tentative voice. He wanted her to come. He wanted her to stay. How could he be that indecisive?

How could he turn his back against the most unselfish thing he'd ever decided on? Even now, his conscience and his wants were still warring if it was a noble choice or just colossally stupid. He knew that he might not survive the choice, even though he had to, even though he didn't want to.

"Someone needs to keep you insane." When Ranma opened his eyes again, Akane was offering him a hesitant smile. "You wouldn't be Ranma if you weren't a little bit insane."

"Ahh, but in this relationship we have, my lady, I'm not the one who's crazy," Ranma pointed out to her. He didn't want the conversation so he coped by doing what he always did with large emotional problems: he ignored it.

He turned his back to her and began walking towards the direction of the Sanuki port.

Let her decide if she comes or not, he certainly can't make rational decisions when she was present. Akane had the ability to take away his sanity in an instant. She walked a step behind him.

She was content to talk without his responses, content to talk to his back. "We never had the right questions between us, you and I," she said conversationally.

"I think it's important to know the answer more than the question," he argued, finally exasperated. "Do you have answers?"

"That's just the thing. I don't have the answers. I don't know," Akane said while she laughed, as if those words solved all of their problems. "You gave me forever, Ranma, don't take it back now."

He hadn't taken it back. He just didn't know how to begin again. He expected her to turn away at his unresponsiveness, but he hadn't expected her to rest her forehead against his back and sigh. Akane implored, "If you're not willing to look for your own happiness then at least, please try for mine."

Uncomfortable at the display of affection that anyone wandering at the road could see he whispered, "You look happy with them you know." It was one of the reasons he didn't want to take her away. He had given her enough pain.

"My siblings?" He noticed that she was settling into her family now. The hesitation of calling Eruchii and Shori her siblings was gone. "Let me choose my ending for once okay?"

There was a long pause. Did he really want to leave without her?

"Don't complain to me if you want to come back here," Ranma muttered under his breath, his soothing hand on her back a direct contradiction to the protest in his voice. "I suspect that I would never get the time to do this again."

"Is that a yes?"

"It is for as long as you want it," Ranma answered as he pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her. He shouldn't have put up a fight in the first place. He should have known she would have stubbornly tried to weather the situation with Happosai instead of staying with her siblings. She elbowed him for the comment and he glared at her. 'At least let her want me forever.'

"Remember what I told you when you failed mid-air combat?" Ranma asked.

Akane squeaked, taken completely by surprise when he lifted her off the ground her, clasping her hands around his neck. Ranma carried her like he would a bride. When she regained her breath, she answered, "No."

He frowned for a moment. It figures she'd completely forget the most important thing he'd ever told her. "About Anything Goes. About the feeling."

Finally realizing what he was referring to Akane whispered, "You don't mean we're literally going to do that, are you?"

Ranma gave her a smile before he jumped off the ground towards the trees. "We are going to fly."

**Epilogue 1 is already uploaded**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Ranma co. were borrowed from the brilliant mind of Rumiko Takahashi. The original story was based on a book, _When there is Hope _.

* * *

**Endnotes: **

1) **Okaeri - **Greeting, means welcome home.

2) **Tadaima - **Greeting, means I'm home.

I think they're words usually used by fanfiction/scanlations, but just in case.

* * *

**Author's Notes:  
**17434 

**TWO MORE Epilogues to go :) **

When I was writing this, I was bleeding over Alias fics of Irina Derevko x Jack Bristow. I just wish the results weren't fight fight fight and then violent sex. I worte out a good deal of fight fight fight before I actually finished writing a passable ending. And I deleted a lot of sappy things! Hopefully this is a better turnout.

**06/07 edit: **I was re-reading parts of this and realized Ifuku was calling Eruchii in such a disrespectful manner! Coming from a society where we have honorifics for older siblings, I was apalled that I made that mistake. Hence all Eruchii's have been converted to Eruchii-oniisama or oniisama.

_Research, _as always I had to follow the specific path from Sagami to Sanuki in this fic. It took me endless poring over maps and debating over the length of time it takes for a large group to actually reach from one end of the island to another. And since we actually use bullet trains for this, it was quite difficult.

Rankings, Kokushiu, Lord of the Province, etc were researched from a book when I was in college. They're written out in chapter 14 for your guidance and in my livejournal, or my webpage. (It would be so much simpler if there were dukes and earls in Japan , but it would be less fun, wouldn't it?)

The layout of the Tendo Castle was based off a true Japanese castle, one in Himeji called the White Heron, and the same castle was referred to in previous chapters of the fic. Other descriptions of the Tendo castle & its donjon were taken from my very fortunate visit to Japan last October in both Osaka Castle and Nijo-jou. Nijou-jou was more informative with regard to castle structure, but Osaka Castle was very informative on all the other details of warfare (pictures could be found in my livejournal, I'm really sorry there can't be any direct linking, but you could search by date it's around October 2006.

The idea for the entire court taking over inspired by watching Juni Kokki (12 Kingdoms) a great anime and reading too much Anatolia Story by Chie Shinohara. It's licensed by Viz Video, and I need to get my shipment once a year when people actually travel to the US before I get mine. Haha, The latest book was released a mere days after my parents left the US , and therefore I have no copy. :) The entire Ranma spiel about chi was influenced by a Japanese movie in the turn of the era about swords and assassinations, of which I never could remember the title. As always the chapter exploded from 10,000 to 17,000 pretty fast. And all that while I was editing to send to my pre-readers. (Now you understand why it takes a few months for me to edit)

Thank you to Celes Tempest for When there is Hope! Because Of which I managed to start and finish this story.

I confess that the honorifics in this fic are giving me trouble. -sama could be translated as Lord or Lady, but I use Lord and Lady as well. How do I choose between them? I give a shade more respect to -sama and Lord or Lady as simply a title, even though they're the same. I'm going back and revising the gender nouns for Ranma and Nabiki, but that will take more than a while, but I have changed Yuki's honorifics to -dono, whenever Sohin refers to him becuase of subtle loyal servant-master interaction that my sister has pointed out. The entire Tendo business is a little bit confusing on honorifics too.

iCe

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**website: **ice _dot _esmartdesign _dot _com : working thanks to Arthur Hansen  
**email **: siuane _at _gmail _dot _com  
**livejournal **: ice _underscore _of _underscore _dreams 


	22. Epilogue I & Deleted Scenes

**Revision Notes:**  
06/27/07 -- Fixed small error in wording of last sentence, thanks to unusualtaste  
06/01/07 -- Fixed Deleted Scenes; was truncated with the May 30, 2007 Bug in Fanfiction dot net.  
05/29/07 -- Uploaded at the same time as the previous chapter (Part 20: April to June) please read it before reading this.

* * *

**Special Thanks to: **  
Tin  
Ellen Kuhfeld  
Jourdan Bickham  
unusualtaste

And to the person reading this.

You are all my reasons.

* * *

**Rendezvous with Fate v.3 **  
by iCe  
Epilogue

* * *

Ryoga folded the last of the letters. Then took the phone number Shampoo had given him to contact her. He waited for someone to answer the ringing and was thankful that it was Shampoo who picked up and not her great granddaughter. 

"I've read everything," Ryoga told her, his throat a bit dry. He cleared his throat and repeated it, "I read everything."

"Would you like to see the house they lived in?" Shampoo asked slowly, not even bothering to ask who it was. She only expected one person to call her.

Ryoga thought about the question for a moment before saying, "Yes."

"I'll be there shortly."

While he waited Ryoga cleaned up, changed clothes, tried to tidy the small pile of letters and generally try to keep his mind off what he was about to do. When the doorbell rang he almost ran to answer it.

Shampoo smiled up at him. She didn't bring her great granddaughter along. She inclined her head towards the waiting cab he looked at her, eyebrows raised. "You don't know how exorbitant cabs are here in Japan ."

"You underestimate just how much I know, sonny. But I don't drive and I don't trust **you **to drive," Shampoo said as she gave him a little push towards the waiting taxi. "So **your **wallet is going to be a little poorer after this ordeal."

She entered in the cab after him and spoke to the driver in Chinese. When the driver understood where they were going Ryoga looked at her skeptically. "Don't tell me you **stole **this car?"

Shampoo sighed in exasperation. "Are you normally this slow boy?" Ryoga opened his mouth but Shampoo shook her head deciding that she didn't want to hear the answer. "I didn't steal the car. Chinese immigrants are all over the world, thank you. Chinese cab drivers give better prices to Chinese tourists. We are good at holding on to our money, you know."

The man behind the wheel tipped the bill of his cap off to Ryoga and smiled. After that they rode in companionable silence until they reached a beach. The cab stopped in front of a large archways and a long ascending staircase.

"Wasn't the main house in Nerima?" Ryoga asked as he handed over several bills to the cab driver before alighting from the vehicle.

"Yes, but Ranma and Akane's story has always been in Rose Brier. Nabiki took it back in a treaty with Kuno, she gave it to them as a wedding gift," Shampoo explained softly. It was good that the ship bound to China had been delayed or they would have missed Ranma's wedding. "Come along then."

"It's a traditional inn," Ryoga noted in wonder following after Shampoo's hopping. Ryoga had his share of traditional inns, but he felt a little elation when he recognized the structures from Akane's letters. This was where she stayed. "I've never been here before."

"Little wonder," Shampoo said as she nodded towards the maids who greeted them. In surprise, Ryoga noted that she was a known figure. "Miss Saotome, where is she?"

"In the dojo, matriarch, some guests are arriving later," the maid informed her with a low bow, stopping from arranging the flower arrangement that graced the small table to address the matriarch.

Shampoo gave a small smile of approval before beckoning for Ryoga again. They circled the inn before they came in front of the dojo which afforded the view of the beach.

Shampoo pogoed towards the dojo and opened the double doors as she raised an eyebrow at Ryoga, who followed behind slowly. Inside the dojo a woman about his age was practicing a kata. She stopped in mid-punch just as she twirled around to look at Shampoo.

"Matriarch Shampoo!" she exclaimed in delight and surprise running over. She had almost tackled the older woman, if Shampoo hadn't pogoed out of the way.

"I see you're still enthusiastic, child," Shampoo commented with a warm smile. "Ryoga, I want you to meet Saotome Miyako."

"Is this?" Ryoga stuttered, unsure of how to ask the question. Enough generations had passed for her not to look like whoever ancestors she had. There was a pink streak on her hair. Ryoga couldn't decide if it was natural or obtained from the bottle.

"She's Akane's great-granddaughter. Ranma's current heir," Shampoo announced softly. Turning to Miyako, she asked, "Where's that cousin of yours?"

"Our last common branch was twins four centuries ago," Miyako commented with a little smile for Ryoga's sake, as if sharing the joke. "You'd think you'd stop referring to us as cousins."

"It's simpler," Shampoo said tersely. "I don't have time to remember all the third cousins twice removed crap. What's important is you are his heir and she is Nabiki's. There's nothing beyond that. Now where is your cousin?" She raised her eyebrow, and Miyako pointed towards the back doors.

"She's occupied with her pets, matriarch, you know her," Miyako said wrapping a towel around her shoulders. "I take it you want him to know her too?"

Shampoo didn't reply as she pogoed towards the direction of the pens, Miyako followed her and Ryoga followed Miyako, not daring to get lost. "The matriarch is here," Miyako called out to her cousin.

Exactly the same face turned towards them. Akari wiped her hands in a small rag beside her, she stood up from the small bench she had been perched on and jumped down to greet Shampoo, "Matriarch, what a pleasure."

"Akari Unryuu, meet Ryoga Hibiki," Shampoo introduced them without wasting time. Before she could say more, both she and Miyako jumped up to the relative safety of a tree. "Look out boy!"

That was the last thing Ryoga heard as a great boar slammed into him.

-

Miyako watched the fight lightly from the tree trunk, a little curious but not overly worried. Her gaze landed on Akari, who had her hands wrung together in worry. 'For her pig, no doubt,' Miyako thought, although Katsunishiki almost never lost fights, it was Akari's tendency to worry. Blowing out a strand of black hair that strayed into her eyes, Miyako reached for the pink streak of hair she shared with Akari.

"I can't believe how demented we are in the family," Miyako groaned out when Ryoga finally got a few hits to the boar. "Who else attacks visitors with their pet pig?"

"He's **my **visitor, child," Shampoo reminded her testily from a lower branch opposite the one Miyako landed on. "I have trained you when you visited in China and **this **is how you repay me?"

Miyako rolled her eyes lightly at the matriarch. Shampoo had told her countless times that she shared the disdain for authority with Ranma. She hated being compared with an ancestor centuries dead, but Shampoo had known him and she always liked reminiscing. "I wasn't the one who sicced Katsunishiki on him, okay? Lay off."

Shampoo let out an exasperated sigh at Miyako's change of moods. Bouncy one moment and irritable the next. "Ryoga's going to win," Shampoo predicted.

Miyako snorted as Ryoga side stepped the pig's attack. "Finish him off damn it. I don't have time for this." Akari was a descendant of Sei's, a direct line off Nabiki. Most of them stayed within Saotome boundaries and most of them managed the Saotome household.

For some odd reason a lot of them managed to take interest in feeding the Clan. Three generations before, they'd built the entire shrimp hatchery. Now Akari was into pigs. Miyako just didn't understand it.

Before Ryoga could deliver a good killing blow to Akari's favorite pet, Akari was latched on to his arm. "No! I'm sorry. He didn't mean it. He's territorial."

Miyako's eyebrow twitched and gave Shampoo a sidelong glance. But the matriarch wasn't on her branch anymore. She was beside Akari, her smile broad. Miyako resisted the urge to bang her head against the tree trunk. 'What is it with her cousin and that pig? Surely that idiot can see that she's lying.' Ryouga was laughing lightly. Miyako groaned. 'Definitely an idiot.'

"I'd like the two of you to show him around Rose Brier. He wants to know more about the twins," Miyako heard Shampoo say as she landed on the ground stopping beside Akari.

"Which twins?" Miyako said drolly. "There are so many in the family."

Akari elbowed her, which produced a coughing fit. Shampoo gave her a glare serving as another sharp warning.

"You take after him in your tongue, Miyako." Shampoo said, although not without affection. There was no doubt **who **she was comparing her with. "I'll leave this to the two of you heirs. I'll be visiting the family shrine."

Nodding Akari moved towards the main house changed into slippers as Miyako watched Ryoga, curiosity piqued. "Matriarch Shampoo doesn't bring us many visitors. Why do you want to know about the twins?"

"I want to know about Ranma and Akane in particular." Ryoga coughed as Miyako gave Akari a knowing smile.

"Come on then, we might as well whip up the family tree," Akari announced as they moved towards the large library. Opening a large locked shelf with a key she had kept around a necklace, Akari brought out a scroll.

"This is singularly unfair. I'm heir to the Saotome dynasty and you get to keep the key." Miyako pouted as she helped her cousin lay out the scroll on the floor.

"It's yours Miyako. You're just a bit too irresponsible at times," Akari soothed her cousin before turning her attention to Ryoga. "I'm sorry, what did you want?"

"Go ahead ask. I know it's been bugging you," Miyako said after giving Ryoga a long scrutinizing look. She watched Ryoga's mouth work open with the question he wanted to ask since he saw them together.

"Miyako, you know we're not supposed to talk about that!" Akari hissed.

Miyako rolled her eyes. "She asked us to tell him about the twins so it's really not all that farfetched that he knows about --"

"Miyako," Akari warned insistently.

Miyako sighed then looked at Ryoga. "But he gets to ask. That's always been the rule of the house."

"Are you twins?" Ryoga asked perplexed.

Miyako barked out a small laugh as she sat down tomboyishly against a sofa that was set against the wall. "Wrong question. Matriarch Shampoo introduced us as cousins. She's not lying. We're very **distant **cousins, but cousins none-the-less."

Gesturing to the seats around the room Miyako waved the two of them to sit. "You want to know about my branch of the family, Mr. Hibiki? You're not getting notions of marrying me are you?"

"No. Of course not. I just want to know more about Akane. That's all," Ryoga said, flustered sitting across Miyako.

Akari set down tea for the two of them. Miyako looked at her cousin before stilling her hands. "Let the maids do that, Akari." If Akari had her way she would be doing all the things the maids were doing.

"You get into a foul mood when you think someone's asking for your hand," Akari reminded her as she sat down on the large sofa in between Ryoga and Miyako.

"I have the right to be," Miyako muttered darkly then raised her eyebrow at Ryoga. "If you're not here for my hand, why ask about the family tree? Are you here to ask for Akari?" Miyako rubbed her temple, the small signs of a headache beginning. Just what she needed. Someone to ask for Akari's hand.

"No. I'm not here to ask for Ms. Unryuu." Miyako let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She hadn't known what she was going to do if it was another unwanted suitor.

"We never run out of people harassing us because of that anyway," Miyako informed him wearily as she set her eyes on Ryoga, realizing the only other reason why he would ask.

"What would you like to know?" Akari said insistently bringing the cup of tea to her lips.

"What happened after they got married?" Ryoga asked slowly.

Miyako sighed as if she'd repeated the story more times than she cared to admit. Everybody wanted to know about the wonder twins, as most of the envious family members called them. "They had three children, one of them twin girls, twins run rampant in the family tree, and a boy. Now that I think about it that great-grandfather of mine rescued an entire village from being burned and terrorized."

"And their child's heir was that famous assassin," Akari pointed out the fact, watching Ryoga intently. Miyako was surprised Akari would reveal that. "Quite instrumental during the turn over of that era."

"What was their boy's name?" Ryoga showing more than slight interest over the tidbit of information, asked.

"His name was Saotome Ryoma." Miyako put down her cup slowly and surveyed Ryoga critically. "You've asked one correct question Hibiki-san. I'm allowing you to ask one more, for the sake of being fair."

"What was the correct question?" Ryoga asked bewildered.

Miyako frowned displeased at the choice that Ryoga presented. "Akari, dear, could you please see to the Jasmine room. It needs to be aired before the guests arrive. They're due in thirty minutes."

Akari looked at Miyako for one long minute before rising to leave. Miyako almost heaved a sigh of relief when her cousin left, closing the door slowly behind her, leaving Ryoga alone with Miyako. Miyako stood up abruptly. "You're cheating, Mr. Hibiki. But I'll indulge you, because apparently, I have no choice. If you haven't figured it out by now, their son was named after you."

"I know that," Ryoga said bewildered. "I was wondering why you did."

"I'm heir. I've known it my entire life, just as my father did, and apparently you're the reason for it," Miyako explained turning around on her heels effectively. "And the correct question to ask about my face wasn't if we were twins. It was: Why do we look alike."

"And why do you look alike?" Ryoga asked. It wasn't a surprise to Miyako that people would wonder about Akari and her. Their face had been sculpted using the same planes, the same shade of pink highlighted their tresses. They had the same build, they were distinct only in their stance and demeanor. Akari was the lady and Miyako was the tomboy.

Miyako took a cup hefted it on her hands thinking about what she was about to do for a moment, before upending it over her head. The now male Miyako wiped the tea away from his face.

Ryoga almost jumped in surprise at the evidence of Jusenkyo. Miyako could almost hear his thoughts: _So it had been real._

"I hate it when I have to be Miyako but I learn to live with it. We Saotomes, you will soon find out, never learn from our mistakes." He held out his hand in Western greeting instead of the traditional bow. "Let's repeat that introduction shall we? I'm Saotome Azuma. I guess I should refer to you as my great-many-times-over-grandfather, but just looking ten years older than I am might make that a little strange. I could tell you more about great-grandmother after you finish mourning her."

The only other place it sounded even remotely logical would be at a Saotome household. "It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. Hibiki."

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Ranma co. were borrowed from the brilliant mind of Rumiko Takahashi. The original story was based on a book, _When there is Hope _.

* * *

**Author's Notes:  
**2,565 

**One more Epilogue to go:: Nabiki's Epilogue (might take a while, haha, but it's half written out) **

I finally finished rend eh?

I must admit there are quite a few influences to a lot of the way things went in rend. most of what influenced it was the research that i conducted for rend itself, but other times, it was the current manga flavor of the month. There were some references to goong in some chapters, and as I said the idea of taking down the tendo fort was influenced by the way chie shinohara handles the bloodless battles in red river. There were a few times that it was just the books I was reading, namely Anne Bishops dark jewels trilogy or Laurell K Hamilton's Meredith Gentry series.

There were some instances where i was asked to do a lemon, but it certainly never turned out that way. Although I made a lemon side story for a friend of mine a few years ago. I largely base a good deal of rend from my experiences, I had to climb on top of a small volcano for the mountain chapter (taal volcano), I went to two beaches, Puerto Galera and Boracay for more of the beach chapters and I actually visited some Japanese castles (I'm extremely thankful for the opportunity). An unfortunate thing is, I never did get around to learning martial arts and mostly, whatever martial arts were here were based off what I learned from books.

Another unfortunate thing is I never did learn how to draw. I really wanted to make a cover for the book before I had it bookbound, but sadly that won't come to pass. OK, finished this baby, will wait for editing in the FFML for some grammar and technical errors before sending it to the RAAC. (RAAC Still alive, even though its heart is barely beating... if you're interested in some really old ranma fanfics, you could find it there)

I also want to take the time to t**hank everybody who helped with rend**. Sorry I can't remember all of you guys. You've been so much help in the past. For specific chapters, your names are always with the chapters that you've helped out with. Thank you to my betas (pre-readers) who've tried to make this fic a) as grammar worthy as possible b) as non-cheezy as possible c) as true to the Japanese culture as possible d) as non-redundant as possible. Special thanks to ELIE for sending me chapter 14 when my harddrive ate it up for dead. For all the reviewers who've been with me, for everyone who's been reading this faithfully, thanks for believing that it would eventually end and for following the story. I couldn't do anything without you guys. As I said, you are all my reasons :p

iCe

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**website: **ice _dot _esmartdesign _dot _com : working thanks to Arthur Hansen  
**email **: siuane _at _gmail _dot _com  
**livejournal **: ice _underscore _of _underscore _dreams

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_**for someone standing at the peak of happiness it's an obligation **_

* * *

**DELETED SCENES**

Some of the deleted scenes were lost when my hard drive crashed back in '05, so these are post '05 take outs. Mostly deleted becuase of the sheer cheezyness or the fact that I didn't like where it was going.

* * *

_**chapter 5 **_

Of course, Sasuke managed to report after Sei managed to reach his house.

Since ninja weren't the most reliable thing to testify against your veracity... and Sasuke being the only one who knew the truth... Nabiki was in very deep trouble.

**chapter 6 **

Nabiki silently wished that Ranma wasn't doing what he was doing at the moment. Nabiki couldn't afford to see him break his heart over Kodachi again. Because Ranma was following Kodachi around, he was trying to do what would normally be Sasuke's job, keeping Kodachi in line. And the snub, one thing that might set Kodachi off, might give them a clue to Kodachi's mind.

'Please, don't fall in love with her.' Nabiki-kun prayed earnestly as he went back to Kaoru.

**chapter 7 **

"Oh, damn it, Ranma, you're in love, why don't you just admit it and get it over with?"

"Because if I did, and I'm not saying that I am, it won't be over. Nothing ever is." Ranma looked dejectedly at her. "You'll tell me her past mistakes, and you'll tell me she--"

"But it's true, you fool... and yet you still feel this way?"

He had hated Kodachi enough, and yet now that she is a weak spineless fool -- at least projecting herself as one -- one who showed proof of violent tendencies... he might fall in love with her.

He looked back at her. "Do you think I'm making a mistake... that all of this is a mistake?"

Maybe it was. Kodachi wasn't someone you treated lightly, after all, Kodachi was the one who had ruined most of their lives... and yet she found herself helpless against the question. She found out that she couldn't break her brother's heart "I -- I -- honestly don't know."

Ranma stared at Kodachi and the samurai arrived and carried her off to the bathhouse. He wanted to go to her, but his pride couldn't -- wouldn't let him. His temper got him into this situation in the first place, his temper and his jealousy. His pride kept him there. 'Akane, why do this to me?' Not noticing that he had called her by that name.

"But it's true, you fool... and yet you still feel this way?"

And when he was finally gone, she closed the shoji and crumpled to the floor. She would've wept, but tears were useless, just as her dreams.

One escaped her self control. A tear trailed down her cheek, her silent tear, for her forsaken brother and their damned life. Whether she noticed that she shed it or not, did not matter.

That single tear encompassed the whole of Nabiki Ikkasei - she stopped not Ikkasei, she was Saotome once again -- Nabiki Saotome's grief, then she stood up, straightened her kimono and went to her son. A son who wasn't her own anymore. Her son who was now Ranma's.

* * *

He was wearing his most usual disguse, a pleasant expression. 

**chapter 8 **

Ukyo almost let out a protest at his sudden appearance, but decided not to voice it out. Samurai were always trained not to listen when they weren't spoken to so she had known he had been lurking, just as no important person was supposed to be left without guard.

It was barely dawn, and most of the house was up, although through the silent halls it was not apparent. Soon she'll have to tell the house that Ranma had already left his chambers.

Nabiki turned to Hanae's quarters, as expected the girl was already packing most of her things in her bag, Nabiki nodded to her, "Hanae, Ukyo is here."

"Yes, 'Nty." She said picking the pace up a bit.

Nabiki walked to her and sat down, taking the clothes into her hands stopping the movement. "Hanae, you are an intuitive girl. I wish to know what you think about Kodachi."

Hanae stopped to consider her words. Kodachi was a subject rarely discussed and something noticeably avoided. It came as a surprise for someone who palpably hated Kodachi to ask for an opinion from the girl. "I dunno know, 'Nty. I've always seen her as daddy or you have. And... she's shown she can be cruel lots 'a times. But she seems different now..."

"Are you sure?" Nabiki wanted to know from this girl desperately, for she was one of Kodachi's most hated people and the most innocent of all whom Kodachi had hurt.

Hanae looked up to her aunt's eyes, "Before... I doubted if 'dachi could teach me the things you teach Sei-chan or 'Nty 'Kyo teaches me. Maybe 'cuz she hated me too much 'cuz I was somebody else's daughter. Now... 's not hate I see. Maybe resentment..." She struggled to get the large words out. "Maybe some anger, but not the pure revulsion she had for me. Not enough to throw me out in the rain 'Nywei."

The girl was smart and Nabiki trusted her completely, but to trust Hanae's instincts... many things have been turning out bad, and Nabiki merely wanted the best for her brother. Merely wanted the best for everyone. She didn't want to do this but it had to be done.

Nabiki almost winced, she really hated to do this, but this was her last alternative. She can't just watch Kodachi's every movement, to keep up the whole house without it going to ruin was already such a big task. Kodachi needed someone looking after her all the time. Sasuke wouldn't do it, his bonds to the Kuno household, though weak, was enough for him not to report to her. Ranma isn't to be disturbed from his task, that's the reason Nabiki managed the house. All the rest can't be taken into account for they simply cannot keep up with Kodachi.

Except for Hanae.

She knew how unconventional this was going to be, but who cared about norms anyway? They certainly haven't, and they certainly weren't going to any time soon. Ukyo had just provided her with the best spy. She expected Ranma to give a fight, but she never let any opportunity get wasted. "Hanae, Ukyo can't be your foster mother anymore."

It was the perfect arrangement. Kodachi couldn't lure Ranma to something more committed than he already is, she'd be kept busy for the most part, Nabiki gets a spy whose loyalties are unquestionable and she has more time to think in between her lessons of Martial Arts in Good Graces. For an invented art, it took a lot of her time to establish.

"This won't work if I announce it to her. You have to tell it to her. Preferably, after a big fight with Ranma. Memorize what I'm going to tell you Hanae, I'm pretty sure this is how she'll react."

For the next stick, Hanae listened intently to her aunt, before she finally stopped her lecture, convinced she had covered every possibility, now all she had to do was find Sei and Ranma, and have breakfast. Hopefully Kodachi will not wake up early.

* * *

Twirling the scroll in her hand Nabiki turned to Cologne . " _Matriarch, do not be so harsh on my brother. He was dropped on the head when we were born. _" 

" _Correction! Nabiki was dropped on the head! I was kicked by the ... person who was holding me! _" He turned indignantly, Nabiki smiled, that jibe always got him on the defensive.

* * *

Fuming Akane turned around, gave a cracked smile to the samurai and went back to the house to vent some of the irrational anger. 'Under my roof! He's already cheating me with Ranko and he's got another one?' 

She wanted to give Ifuku the berating that was reserved for Ranma, but didn't. It wasn't good to blame others for what simply wasn't their fault. Although she'd have to lecture the girl and get it to her brain that Ranma definitely had more than one consort.

"Sasuke!" She called out, her anger still at its peak, when he appeared she gave him her orders, "Bring me some rope. A rope as long as the house."

Sasuke was gone and back in an instant, giving several hemp ropes knotted together to comply with her length requirements. Akane went over the side of the corridor where her room lay, tying the rope tangent to the corridor up to the other side dividing the residential wing of the house equally into two. She turned on her heel and was about to walk out when someone manhandled her to a wall. This time she managed not to jump too much.

"Ranma," She said irritably when she realized who it was. "What is it?"

"Look Kodachi, I know I already had this whole lecture with you about being celibate and all..."

"You never gave me that lecture, it was Ranko." Akane bit out then looked up to him. "Or do you share the same thoughts now?"

He ignored her statement and continued with his current train of thought. "I know you're angry right now--"

"Angry? Angry? What the **hell **do I have to be angry about?" Akane shook with visible fury, no matter how much she denied it. "You are **entitled **to your consorts."

"Kodachi, would you please listen to me?" Ranma pleaded a bit.

"Why should I?" Akane asked defiantly pulling her shoulders off his grip, it didn't work. "You **never **listen to me."

"It's not like **you **listen to me as well!" Ranma answered frustrated, letting her go. "Look, Ukyo is one of my oldest friends."

"You don't need to explain to me, Ranma." Akane gave him a very unconvincing smile. "I am only your wife, after all."

"I know I don't need to, but I want to."

That just made Akane's anger worse. He wasn't supposed to agree with her. She reached around him and took the mallet she'd been using to secure the pegs to tie the rope down and started hammering at him which to her frustration, he simply dodged. "Oh, so you're saying that you should go traipsing around with every female you could find. Fine. I don't care."

Giving up, Ranma rolled his eyes, jumping over the last mallet strike and vaulting over her head then disarming her. "I can see this conversation is not getting us anywhere. I'll be going now."

"Fine. Be that way."

Ranma had not taken two steps when he turned to face Akane again, "What is it with you Kodachi? I try to explain things to you, and you don't listen. I'm leaving you alone and you get angrier. Is there something you wish to tell me? We've been going at this for at least seven years. I am pretty sure you know how redundant it got after the first."

"I'm sure," Akane retorted. "That's why you get all these women."

Ranma threw up his hands in frustration, "I am already giving you too much of a chance, trying to believe this story of you loosing your memory. It's far more than you deserve."

"And I'm being **nice **to you, you grumpy old man!" Akane shouted putting her hands to her hips. "And that's fare more than you deserve."

"Name one nice thing you've done for me."

"I've taken up Martial Arts of Wife in Good Graces for you, I've taken Ranko out of your room, out of your clothes, I've given her **consent **to do whatever she likes, I've tried to find out about your past, I've been **civil **to your consort, I've been more than kind to your sister..." Akane smoldered even more, the totality of all she has done the past months bearing down on her. "What more do I have to do to make you realize I'm not that evil a person?"

"You **are **an evil person Kodachi. It's more of what you don't do rather than what you do that proves it." Ranma stated watching her look up to him defiantly. "There simply is so much proof, we **can't **deny it."

"Why are you trying so hard to hate me?" Akane asked him, her anger finally dissipating after a good deal of shouting and punching tatami.

"I'm not." Ranma answered hefting the mallet around. "I'm merely trying to avoid you."

"Then why? Can't you see I'm trying?"

"Can't **you **see I'm trying?" Ranma threw back at her. "I don't want all this. I stay married to you because of the Sagami. Let us not forget that small fact."

She felt dejected, he had only married her for a **damn **position. She was about to slap him when he caught her arm. He looked pointedly at her new installment to the house and fingered it derisively. "And what's with this rope?"

She had momentarily forgotten her handiwork. "I divided the house. Stay on your side."

With that, Akane turned to run, she didn't look back as she crawled to her futon and cried.

* * *

"Kodachi just managed to divide the house into two." Ranma growled. Nabiki was thankful he was not lugging his katana around. "Literally." 

"And how has she managed to do that?" Nabiki's curiosity peaked by the fact, everything Kodachi seems to do, makes her question the woman's sanity more and more. Maybe dividing the house will keep Kodachi at arm's length. "Saw the tatami?"

"She tied a rope in between the shoji." Ranma bit out. It was obvious he was not taking it well. "Several of them in fact."

* * *

ut then... there was simply too much evil in Kodachi that everything she did was ultimately for her sadistic pleasures alone. Something in her actions, in her ways that made you think you're getting the better deal, when all she does is offer you a false hope of something you already have. In that respect, Kodachi was a lethal opponent. 

She hugged herself,

* * *

Akane did not know how long she slept, but a tapping sound from her window roused her from her sleep. Deciding to ignore whatever it was, she tugged on to her blanket. When it kept going on, she decided that she should send whatever it was on its way. 

She was expecting a bird rapping on the paper window and had not been prepared to see Hanae dangling upside down from the ledge.

"What the hell are you doing out there?" Akane asked surprised trying to pull her in. Surprisingly the girl just smiled sat on that thin ledge. Akane prayed her damndest that it wouldn't give way and fall. It was **just **paper.

"Come inside, Hanae." She may dislike the girl, but it wouldn't do for the girl to fall down from her window towards the very rough cliff on to the bay. She moved allowing the girl some space for her entrance.

Thankfully, the girl followed her up on her offer and she gracefully stepped into the room, whipping her kimono around her then breaking out into a grand smile, as if she had just preformed a great feat. She looked around swiftly then grimaced, "Lousy decorating sense."

"I agree." Akane nodded sitting down at the futon then offering her one of the cushions, she still hadn't finished the change of all the monochrome colors, but she was starting. "Don't **ever **come through the window again. You scared me half to death!"

Hanae raised her eyebrow then sat down as she had been told while Akane lit a candle. "I'd think you'd **want **me to enter through the window, daddy seems to pref-er that en-tra-nce, and you **did **marry him."

Akane looked at the child with mild disbelief. No one comes through the window, especially **her **window. "And does your father know about these little jaunts of yours?"

Giggling, Hanae shook her head. "Don't tell him. It's the first time I've ever tried it." She giggled a lot more after seeing Akane's expression. "Don't worry, I wouldn't have done it if I didn't know if I'd live through the ex-pe-rience."

"You talk big for a child your age."

"I'm above-the-average child my age."

"So you are. So, what brings you at my window so late at night?"

"Actually, I'm here because of daddy." Hanae sighed as she twirled the locks of her hair contemplating on what to say. "I know you've been having fights, and I don't think it's right."

That was the worst understatement she has ever heard, they barely were around each other and when they were they always ended up in a shouting match. "That's because he's the most infuriating man in the world! He has a mistress on the same house, and an ill-"

It was then that Akane wisely shut up, her eyes wide as saucers at the slip. Hanae just nodded. "It's ok. You can say it. With his illegitimate daughter. I'm used to it." She tilted her head sideways then sighed. "I think daddy's wrong. You're not pretending."

Someone had just believed she had amnesia, someone she had probably insulted. Someone she particularly disliked. "What?!"

"Even though he has guarded me from seeing 'dachi -- " She gave Akane an appraising look, "The real one. I've seen her. Recently, before she went here. She was ranting and raving, and laughed, but she had one goal, to tell me I was a b'stard."

"That dreadful woman told you that?"

The child nodded then looked away, "And though I'm not trusting you totally... I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt..." She paused as she let that sink in, "And my help."

"I don't want your help."

"Wanting and needing are two different things."

"What! Your father would disown you if he knows you're helping me." Akane said after everything fully sunk in. 'Are you crazy? This is the only person who's actually cutting you some slack!' Angry as she was with Ranma, she couldn't bring to get his child working against him. But then this comes from a girl she has particularly decided to have an aversion to.

"This isn't where you say that." Hanae jumped up to the bed and took Akane's head nodding it. "This is where you say, 'That's the best offer I've heard the whole week!'"

Clasping Hanae's hands on her own, Akane looked at the child sternly. "Ranma wouldn't like that."

"You're thinking of what he wouldn't like now." Hanae shook her head as she sat on her lap. "I'm half convinced you're not Kodachi."

When Akane didn't say anything Hanae dropped to the floor. "Look, I know daddy. He's being patient with you now, there's no real guarantee that patience will last long." If what she was experiencing patience, she'd like to see what what Ranma did when he lost his tolerance for her. "Your latest episode just made him think you're regaining your craziness back."

"Hey, I've seen it work in Television!" Akane protested.

Hanae tilted her head again mulling over the unfamiliar word, "You managed to put that rope where you couldn't reach the door outside!"

"I fixed that!" Akane grumbled. She had been so frustrated she didn't know where she placed the damned thing. At least she moved it so **Ranma **couldn't reach the outside. "Is he angry?"

"Who wouldn't be?" Hanae stopped for a moment in contemplative silence. "My foster mother can't take care of me anymore ... would you be willing to take her job?"

"I thought wives weren't foster mothers." Akane pointed out what little knowledge she knew.

"Yes, but we're an 'unusual family. You don't do much of the wifely duties 'nywei." Hanae told her, which Akane had to agree. "You have plenty of time in your hands."

Akane knew what was offered, it was something that would definitely give her an edge towards to her husband, something that would make her quest to make him see her as Akane rather than her past as Kodachi easier... but her conscience nagged at the gift. She opened her mouth to refuse the offer when Hanae stopped her. "Why are you trying so hard to hate me?"

That Akane did not expect. She had not expected her own words thrown back at her. Maybe it was the reason why she finally agreed with the child. She looked at her tentatively, maybe it really was worth a try. "I don't really know how to be foster mother."

"Then you're lucky. I know how to be a good child." Hanae offered her a smile then went out. Akane shook her head, wondering what she had gotten herself into now.

-

Moving out through the doorway this time, Hanae shook her head. Offering Kodachi a space for governess would make her more manageable. Mostly it just told her that Kodachi was really out of it.

She tugged the rope that Akane had indeed moved. She thought about what her aunt said and moved to the next order of business, talking to her father.

Ducking under the rope, she went straight to find him. If she guessed right, he was either seething at his room, venting off frustration at the dojo, thinking on the roof or contemplating with Nabiki in the teahouse.

That was quite a lot of places. He obviously wasn't at the teahouse since Nabiki and Ranma already talked over the recent developments. He wasn't at the roof or he'd have caught her at the window. She had been telling the truth, Ranma hadn't permitted her to try coming through the window. A little balance techniques, but nothing like that.

**Chapter 9 **

Ranma-chan looked back at the forest with mixed feelings. Because of Shampoo's sudden outburst, she was forced to think if she wronged the girl in any way. She was about to fetch her for a second time when Cologne stopped her again, a hand on her shoulder.

'Shampoo is a young girl at heart,' he remembered her saying clearly. 'She has not learned the value of what you have willingly given her. She doesn't understand that when you didn't marry her, you gave her something that she has not managed to experience through all of her teenage life... her freedom.'

Walking slowly towards Kodachi's room, Ranma sighed preparing for sleep as silently as he could. Kodachi already slept since Ifuku told her that 'Ranma' did so already, and Ranma didn't want to deal with her at the moment.

It came as a surprise when Kodachi stirred as Ranma went past her to get a fresh sleeping kimono from the small alcove. Opening her eyes slowly, Kodachi adjusted to the semi-dim room, her eyes still blurry from sleep. "Ranma?"

Ranma's intake of breath was sharp. He worried that in Kodachi's sleepy state, her subconscious managed to piece in the puzzle her rational mind could not. The connection of the appearances between Ranma and Ranko... no matter how implausible it may seem.

"Oh... I'm sorry, Ranko-san, you look so much like my husband."

Ranma let out the breath he was holding. The secret was safe for now. And if he has a choice in it, it will remain as one.

"If you're here, Nabiki's out and I'm sick... who's taking care of the children?" It was a rare moment of rationality that Kodachi asked such a question, the worry breaking clean on her face. "Surely..."

"The matriarch Cologne offered to step up their training," Ranma answered while fetching clothes from Akane's closet. In a second he was ready for bed, the immaculate futon laid out the opposite of Kodachi's. "We've been very fortunate."

Kodachi followed Ranma through her eyes as the red-haired woman walked to the small basin Ifuku left earlier to wash her face and hands clean. Ranma dismissed Ifuku to see to Shampoo's needs. Since the Chinese woman has a Jusenkyo curse, few could be trusted to be her maid. Ifuku was one of the few who fell neatly into the category. Although Shampoo would probably be appalled at the thought of a ladies' maid, Amazons were warriors, even their princesses were born to wield the sword.

"Umm... Ranko, do you mind if I ask you something?" To Ranma, Kodachi seemed uneasy. Her muscles tensing visibly even in the dark room. Ranma-chan shrugged, wondering what question could cause her such discomfort. He was troubled and a bit startled at Kodachi's follow-up question. "Why does Ranma stay married to me?"

Frowning at the question, Ranma retrieved the comb at the side of the basin then sat on his futon, looking at Kodachi sideways. "He was ordered to marry you, Kodachi." There was a bit of shuffling that Ranma ignored as he tended to his long hair which irritated him to no end, especially when he pretended to be a girl. Unfortunately, the humidity of the night wasn't helping at all.

"Does Ranma usually stay at Rose Brier?" Kodachi asked tentatively at the dark room. They weren't facing each other but Ranma could just imagine the distaste showing in her face as she asked the question.

Giving out a non-committal grunt Ranma undid the ties of his hair, combed it briskly and re-braided it again, she found out from Nabiki that it would give him less trouble in the morning when he did that. "Rose Brier is at the border of the Sagami, Kodachi--"

"Akane."

Ranma wasn't sure if she was just trying to make small talk or she was geared on irritating him, but he repeated the name nonetheless, "Akane... and it's to be constantly protected especially if there's a threat. He usually stays here when there are important things to do but usually goes to the other house in Nerima to visit his mother."

"That's what I'm unclear about, what's this Nerima house?" Kodachi asked uncertainly. "Isn't Brier Rose in Nerima?"

"Rose Brier is at the border of Kanagawa in Nerima in Sagami. Rose Brier is where the twins stay. The Nerima house, for a lack of a better name to call it," Ranma quipped, "Is mainly where Lady Nodoka and you stay. Sometimes Odawara Castle when Happosai calls."

"Then why is he usually here?" Kodachi relaxed against the light chatter, it was the first time she managed to engage Ranko in a conversation without either of them getting into a fight. In all truths, she wanted to be friends with the girl. "I mean... why does he seem to love the place dearly?"

"Lord Ranma doesn't love the place..." Ranma trailed off thinking about Kodachi's questions, he certainly didn't treat Rose Brier different than any other place he held fiefdom over. "It's just that... maybe it's the peace and quiet -- he never had much of a peaceful life."

"Hmmm..."

Maybe Ranma should tell Kodachi the truth. Kodachi was going to find out about it anyway. Putting down the comb he lay down on the futon. "Rose Brier was an ancestral home, Lady Kodachi, it actually belonged to Ranma and Nabiki when they were young."

"I thought Rose Brier was mine," Kodachi said thoughtfully, reclining into the futon.

Ranma heard the distinct close of the shoji in another part of the house and thought that Ifuku must have already left Cologne and Shampoo's room to return. Her light tread against the tatami was one of the most distinct of all the servants, and Ranma knew all the households footsteps. It was needed for the safety of the home.

"Oh, Rose Brier is yours, but the Twofold Dragons was theirs."

"Wait a minute, you lost me," Kodachi murmured. He really would have lost her there, Rose Brier's old name was forgotten even by the people who currently occupied Sagami. "What Twofold Dragons?"

"It's a name okay? It's what this place was called before you got your hands on it." Ranma-chan muttered, not really caring for the reason why Rose Brier was renamed in the first place. Ranma didn't want to become daimyo when he was sixteen and he certainly didn't know enough to feel remorse over lost land. Ot was before their time, before their births but if it was theirs, he wouldn't have the need to marry Kodachi in the first place.

"What happened?"

Ranma shrugged there were few things that could be blamed for their sufferings if it concerned before their birth, sometimes it was their own ancestors, often it was their liege lord, but most of all it was their foster father. "Genma Saotome happened. He managed to gamble the house and land away and being the fool Genma was, he lost. The house and land was renamed."

"So he married me for the land?" Ranma could almost see the hurt expression Kodachi's voice obviously showed. Ranma still couldn't believe that a lot of people thought he married because of mercenary reasons.

"He married you because he was ordered to. It has nothing to do with the land." Ranma-chan quipped as she turned away from Kodachi. Even in the dark, she could see her form. Her eyes settled on the shoji doors. Next week, she would be at the border, next week Nabiki returns. That was the key next week. He just needed to survive until next week.

"Why did he agree to marry me then?"

"Is an order so hard to comprehend?" Ranma's eyes flared. "And because of that order he can not turn you away!"

"Why?"

Ranma threw his hands up in frustration. Kodachi simply didn't want to understand. "There are some things in the marriage that makes it different from the others!"

"What?"

Her monosyllabic questions were starting to get to Ranma's nerves. There were simply too many clauses that their farce of a wedding has. "Any injury to you done by a member of the Saotome clan ordered by a Saotome clan or anything similar would be reciprocated to Nabiki."

"Why Nabiki?"

"The Kuno's knew that Ranma loved his sister completely and her mind is a liability to them." Ranma-chan frowned as she rubbed the small scar at the small of her back. "Another little quirk is that if you are sent home, Rose Brier would be returned to them."

"So... you can't kill me unless Nabiki dies?"

"Or turns ronin." It wasn't a comforting thought.

Kodachi was silent as she digested this information, Ranma grumbled as he turned again. There simply was no comfortable position to sleep with in a room with Kodachi Saotome. "I don't know about you, but I need my sleep. I'm not one to answer questions you should, by all aspects, know."

With that, Ranma silenced himself and reclined to the futon, listening to Kodachi's slow breathing.

Though they remained silent, sleep would not come to them for a while, both lost in thought about the past and the future.

**Chapter 10**

"Well, you are my husband, aren't you?"

"No!" He stopped and then realized what he had just answered. "I mean, yes."

They stopped for a moment, and Akane looked him over. He was wetter than she was. Whereas she had damp clothes, he was soaked through his shirt and drawstring pants. His pigtail hung limply and baby hair clung to the sides of his face, dripping water all over the tatami.

"You know, I heard somewhere that men get cold faster than women do. It's a scientific fact," Akane whispered over her piece of okonomiyaki, wondering if there was such a word as science in this time and age.

He inched closer. She resisted the urge to laugh. "Am I evil? Am I so very evil that you wouldn't even dare come near to your wife?" She doubted it was the reason for his hesitation, but let it rest at that.

She was surprised to find him glaring at her. "What is it you want Kodachi? Don't tell me this is another one of your mind games. If it is, it's getting old. Happosai is just beyond that door, my sister is covering up for me, and we're just lucky that my old man isn't here yet. Other than that, would you please hurry up? Do what you want to do and get it over with."

She didn't know where she went wrong, it had been going smoothly, they had not been fighting, she had not said anything to provoke the hostility she was receiving. "I really came for what I said earlier. I'm not leaving without it."

* * *

Did her brother truly love Kodachi? That was easily answered: the harder question would be, if it was all a game that Kodachi played. 

Ranma might not pick up all the pieces if his heart was broken again. How far was Ranma willing to go with Kodachi this time?

Apparently, Ranma and Kodachi were moving one step forward and two steps back from each other. At the rate they were going, they were never going to meet. But then... they crossed that final gulf tonight... with whatever happened, it was obvious the animosity that was between them significantly lessened. 'Mental note to self: have a very serious conversation with brother dear regarding his love life.'

Question was, did she like it?

* * *

Akane watched Ranma disappear into the bathhouse and sighed, so it wasn't the time to talk. But when was it time? She couldn't just push herself blindly towards him. She couldn't. 

She turned back to the window, revealing the short sword Ranko had given her when she ran away. Everything was so complicated. Everything was so hard.

'I haven't even admitted to myself that I loved him yet.' Akane's eyes grew wide at the unbidden thought. It wasn't a startling revelation, more of a gradual change that her subconscious mind was aware of, but had surprised her.

She loved him. It was silly and irrational, but it was true.

She loved the way his black pigtail stood when he was cornered, the way it seemed so much a part of him -- yet not. She liked the way he moved, so gracefully like the cat that prowled the night, the way he handled his sword. She liked the way his blue eyes twinkled in the night -- the way the night seemed to call out to him, his eyes that said... everything. Kodachi had hurt him. She had hurt him pretty bad.

That was when Akane realized that she had fallen for her husband... and she had fallen hard.

She looked at the sword as if it will give her the answers that she didn't have, as if it would give her a sign that she was on the right track. But it didn't.

'Why do I have to love a stupid, brash, arrogant jerk?' she asked as she looked at the small sword that Ranko had given her. The sword had no answers for her, 'So, I love Ranma... What the hell am I supposed to do now?'

She had been a fool. She had been trying for months for him to understand her, trying to let him see that she wasn't Kodachi, that she was different. All she has succeeded in doing was falling in love with him.

For the first time in days, Akane wondered what she was going to tell her husband and feared the days coming ahead. Before she did things because she thought it was what was wanted of her... now she wanted his love because she wanted him reciprocate hers.

She hadn't even known why she was doing it. She was desperately trying for him to see her change; that she had failed to see it in herself. Whereas before rejection had been accepted fact, now it meant so much more. It was an end. Of everything. What she had worked so hard to accomplish might just end up in pieces because Ranma Saotome didn't love her.

But she feared the days coming up most of all. Because when before the thought of rejection had been a mere passing instance that she had not dwelled upon, now, rejection was a looming thing that she had to deal with. If her husband didn't want her, she had to deal with it.

She leaned out of the window, the sea crashing against the shore below, 'How could I live with rejection now, knowing that I love him?'

**Chapter 11**

"I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I know," Nabiki agreed, as he picked up his backpack to go to the adjoining room the maid had prepared for him, not intending him to hear. "Why can't you see that's what I'm trying to do with you and Kodachi too?"

**Chapter 13**

"If it's not stupid, then it's a problem." Their voices were still low. "Is that all I am to you Ranma?"

"It's all that we are to each other. I am sure you feel the same way too." With that, he stepped out of the door.

* * *

"But he hates me." Akane averted her eyes as she protested quietly. The fire that she had moments before had disappeared into the depths of what Nabiki thought was genuine sadness. "I know so." 

"You claim to know things you really don't." Nabiki gave the woman a thin smile. "I ask you again, if you're so convinced he hates you, then why stay?"

"I don't know."

"Right, okay... so I guess you're giving up. I wonder sometimes how long a woman like you would last. He hates you." Nabiki gave her a hard stare projecting to Akane just how long she had thought Akane would have lasted. "Okay. I understand."

**Chapter 14**

"_There wasn't anything wrong that night... just the mirror._" Cologne mused. The only thing that gave 'Murasaki' away had been the broken shards of glass. There seemed nothing out of place except for the comb on her hair, and the girl carried nothing on her way out. "_The girl knew what she had been looking for._"

* * *

A sudden strong wave toppled Akane out of her vessel. "Good thing there are no sudden drops here." Ranma muttered, the water was a few feet over his head, but since they were between islands it did not disappear into a deep abyss but leveled off. 

He was about to turn back to the house when Nabiki whispered something that caught his attention, "Don't tell me she can't **swim**." He turned around to watch her thrash in the water.

* * *

Don't give up on this other girl. Besides I'm sure the pigtailed girl would be **happy** to see you devote your attentions to someone else."

* * *

"The reason why she's here is because she **is** banished, silly." Nabiki took a pillow beside her and started pounding him, he blocked neatly by using the Amaguriken. Nabiki scowled but didn't stop. "I found out by accident." 

"What's that got to do with my nephew?" At the mention of nephew, Nabiki increased her speed at trying to bash him, but Ranma matched her as well. Nabiki smiled as one hit got through and stopped clutching the pillow against her chest

She frowned at him then smiled again. Ranma shuddered, he simply wasn't used to Nabiki ** playing**(tin I'm not used to it either. Are you sure you thought of how nabiki-NABIKI- would react if she got a baby? It sounds like Akane to me). "That's what I was about to tell you, you big baby. 'Is Amazon Technique buried in 300 years of history!'" She scowled when he wasn't impressed by her imitation. she started trying to bash him again. "She can read the baby's ki! Ummei didn't like it though -- he said it was like peeking into a wrapped present, Rian assured him she won't do it anymore, especially if they have one of their own."

Ranma answered as he tried to disarm her, but she seemed to be faster that day. Nabiki was a very fast learner.

"So what do you plan to call her?" Ranma asked, stealing the pillow in case she wanted another round of bashing,

Ranma sighed, at least **he** wasn't going to be her personal punching bag if she was going to be violent all of her nine months. She was going to have her husband for that. Ranma sent a prayer to the gods to take pity on the poor guy. He was going to have a bruise filled year.

* * *

She forced him to press his ear against the shoji. 

"How much did you hear?"

"I knew you were up to something when you brought me here, but what's the point if we can't act on it?" Ranma whispered furiously. "This is low, Nabiki."

"This is to learn a little about the healthy relationship of brother and sister."

**Chapter 15**

Akane leafed through the small recipe leaves when Nabiki came in. She raised her eyebrow at Akane doing the task and sat down across her. After the entire incident with her almost death Ranma had encouraged Akane to lend be more intimate with the running of the house... the entire house. On things that Nabiki was sure would be much better without Akane.

Nabiki shuddered at what Akane had called tea. At least she managed to boil water. "Hand me your choices for the food this week." She held out her right hand impatiently, Akane obliged. Nabiki eyed the sloppily written order and sighed taking the inkwell and brush from Akane's already blackening hands.

"Look, Kodachi, I think we should slow down your eagerness to learn about the errands here." Nabiki almost groaned at the pleasure Akane showed from wanting to **learn**, Nabiki cleared her throat again. "You really don't need to learn how to cook --"

"But I **want** to learn." Akane protested vehemently.

Nabiki nodded, placing a hand to her forehead. "Let's take things a step at a time, okay?" There was another nod from Akane. "Good." Nabiki put the recipes and inkwell aside. "Down to the **very** bottom of your skills."

From the way Nabiki has seen her perform the past few days, it looked like she was going to be teaching a lot. She remembered Martial Arts of Wife in Good Graces and grimaced. It was good that Akane had forgotten the whole ordeal because Nabiki wasn't about to start on it again. "Now... what do you want to learn first?"

"Really?" Akane asked earnestly. Nabiki gave the girl a small nod, admiring her tenacity. "I want to be able to use a ki-blast."

Nabiki almost face-faulted. She had thought that she would choose something **marital**. "Uh... shouldn't you be asking **Ranma** about it?" She was uncomfortable, teaching Anything Goes was not her forte especially since she was particularly forbidden towards doing it with anyone other than the children.

"No." Akane shook her head stubbornly. "I want you to do it."

Nabiki felt another headache coming on. "You already utilized your ki when you tried to beat Ranma." Akane really did have quite the untapped potential underneath that unassuming face. "You can do it again. Is there anything else?"

"Um... well..." Akane looked at her toes. Nabiki started to think she was going to have to treat her as a child to get it out from her. Akane inched closer and whispered. Nabiki sighed already thinking of ways to pass it on to her brother. "Okay. We'll start tomorrow."

At that moment, Ranma walked in the room. Akane pulled away from Nabiki and blushed. Ranma raised an eyebrow and Nabiki said without looking at him. "_Your wife is freaking me out._"

Akane punched her on the side, although she had not understood what had passed, she sensed it was about her. Nabiki gave the woman a pointed glare and asked, "Do you want me to teach you or what?" She backed down after that.

"_You're ** also** freaking me out._" Ranma commented to Nabiki as he looked at the two of them. "_I think she's rubbing off on you, sis._"

"Haha." Nabiki said sarcastically, then swirled the ink glumly. "_You try to hold this house together with **her** ruining the ikebana, the food, the carefully planned meals... she's driving me crazy._"

"Oookay." Ranma stopped to look at Akane who was now just trying hard to ignore them, then, deciding to take her off Nabiki's hands asked, "Akane, you want to do something?"

"_You planning to tell her about everybody coming to visit on the first of January?_ He choked on the water that he had been drinking. He had forgotten. Typical. "_Should you tell her, or shall I?_

"Yes!" Akane answered ignoring the conversation in Chinese. "What are we going to do?"

"_I will._" Ranma turned to Akane, he hadn't quite made up his mind on what to do. He had forgotten what he had asked her because of the simultaneous conversation he held with Nabiki.

He stared at her a moment or two before Nabiki rescued him, "He was planning on a stroll on the beach. He said he wanted to show you Sagami Bay's sunset." Akane jumped up from the table in delight, and for a moment, you would have never thought she had been depressed.

"Let's go."

Ranma followed her out then mouthed a small thank you to Nabiki. She nodded as she went back sifting through her papers. Staring at the blotches of ink Akane had made and sighed.

Her work was starting to triple with that woman helping around.

She was starting to wish she **wasn't** helping in the first place.

* * *

"Just beyond Enoshima is the Pacific..." Akane murmured at the thought, the sea breeze on her face. She shivered slightly, the last remaining warmth leaving with the sun. Another thought occurred to her as she waded in the water. She had tied her slippers around her neck and had gotten the bottom of her kimono wet, but she didn't mind. "What do you do in the village... in your nightly strolls." 

"I see the people. How everything's doing." Ranma stayed at the shore to watch, and he looked like he wasn't joining her in the water soon. The water shifted from lukewarm to cold to lukewarm again. As if the water had strips in it that separated it through lines.

Akane bent down to pick up an interesting shell she could see from the top, there were small fish that swam about. The ocean was alive at the evenings, and sometimes you could even see a small crab jump out. m"Not to enjoy?"

He gave her a sidelong glance, then he sat down on the sand one hand resting on his knee, the other on the cooling sand. "You don't think I enjoy what I do?"

"I didn't mean that. I meant to break away."

"You stop being a child after five. That doesn't mean I stop living beyond five."

She didn't quite understand his cryptic answer, but she had pulled out of the shell and examined it in the pale orange that the sun was spreading on the horizon. She smiled as she dropped it back a hand on her ear as she smiled. "I think it's wonderful here, tell me what it's like in Nerima."

He looked at her from the sand and shrugged, although she couldn't see him do it. "It's like any normal city. It's the main point of the fief so there are a lot of people there. I keep most of the men there because mom and you are always in the city... but Nabiki and I usually stay here. Rose Brier works as a good fortress... it's on a cliff, and you can see who's approaching, one side is the bay and the next a sheer drop. Only two sides to protect one of which is a bridge that can be burned off." He stopped, thinking that he must be boring her of the tactics, and the fact that he might be giving himself tactical advantage away.

"Except that **I** haven't exactly been there, recently." Akane answered pointedly, he ignored her again, and she wondered how long he was going to. She raised her hand to splash him with the sea water. "How much water to change?"

"It's not exactly explainable." He muttered as he avoided the water cleanly raising his hands in defense, then remembering Nabiki's words he looked at her. "Mother's coming over for Ganjitsu."

New Year's Day, Akane had forgotten all about it. She had lost her sense of time when she had stepped into Rose Brier. It was usually a big family affair. She gulped again. "Will she be alone?"

"She's coming with her maid, an entourage of samurai." He shrugged, it was the usual practice. "Some friends... They're coming after Zeniarai. It's a big event, most of Kamakura will be there."

"Zeniarai? Money Cleansing?" Akane asked thoughtfully... that was to be held at the last 'snake' day of December.

The Zeniarai Benten Shrine had a large pool of water in the middle of its shrine that served the purpose of people washing money in it. Most do it because they hope that doing so will multiply their earnings for the year to come. It had a legend that the founder, Minamoto Yorimito had heard a divine message to use water for the medium of prayer to the gods.

It was one of the famous five waters of Kamakura. "How about the preparations for Ganjitsu?"

"Nabiki and I will take care of that." Ranma answered, not daring to think on what Akane would **do** to the decorations of the house. "You've seen the children?"

"How long have they been here?" It had been genuine concern. He didn't know how he could tell her that they've been in the house for a few days already.

"Some time," Ranma mumbled in way of explanation.

"So... what will I do?" She wanted to take part of the holiday. New Year's Eve has always been a happy occasion for their family even though they had been a small one. This time, she was going to experience one filled with people.

"Rest." She should have known that Ranma was going to say that. Ever since her depression, everybody had been treating her like glass. Him most of all.

It was during these times that she missed Ifuku the most. Ifuku had been a friend, and a constant companion. She had always tried to explain things to her when she was confused and she was fiercely loyal. Something Akane couldn't find in a town where everybody was sworn in to Ranma.

Those were also the reasons why she had let her leave for a while. She would know that something was wrong with her the moment that she had enacted her plan. In the end her plan had failed her because Nabiki had noticed.

She didn't know if she was happy or sad at that... Now she had made up her mind to live.

She sighed again, at least **Ifuku** was having fun on her sudden vacation.

Suddenly, a wave toppled her over, she managed to choke down salt water before Ranma managed to get from the send towards her location, fishing her out of the sea. He grinned at her, his eyes mischievous. "You know, you really should learn how to swim."

"I've given up trying." Akane muttered looking at her ruined kimono. That made two for the past week. Salt water didn't really help matters with clothes. "Don't tell me you're going to help me swim."

"Strip." Ranma said as he took off his shirt. He was still knee high in water and he had balled up the flimsy silk of his favorite red shirt to throw towards the shore.

She eyed him and the choppy water wearily, wondering if it really was safe to be alone with him in that kind of situation. She was about to voice her apprehension when another wave took her down, this time Ranma included.

Before Ranma-chan managed to stand up and then fish Akane out in the process. Ranma-chan shivered lightly at the cold night breeze and shook the salt water out of her eyes. "I should have kept the shirt on." Ranma-chan muttered while holding Akane closely, both for balance and to keep the girl from sinking on another wave. "Well come on, with your weak state, I'd just bet you'd catch a cold from all of this water."

Akane leaned on her until she finally found a foothold in the sand and grinned up to Ranma. "Thanks for the dunking, Ranma."

"I'm Rank--" The rest of the sentence was muffled by Akane's altwater kiss.

When Ranma-chan got enough bearings she pushed Akane away. "Not out in the open. And **not** when I'm a girl." She said vehemently before trudging forward to pick up the shirt she had thrown earlier to the shore.

* * *

She had asked Ranma that night if he really loved her... just so she knew where she stood. 

Memory was a complicated thing. It could put things that had never happened in your heart if you believed in it, and though it may be a relative to truth, it was not necessarily its twin. She assumed he had answered no. There was no point in mindlessly seeking what you cannot have.

* * *

Ranma knelt beside her. "Did you know any meditation before?" 

"Not really." Akane answered sheepishly as she sat down in the sand. Back when she had been teaching, it was her father who had emphasized meditation. She was more into the checking of the student's forms. She looked up at Ranma. "What now?"

* * *

Ranma motioned for Akane to sit before the sea. The waves had a

soothing sound and it always helped to have one's student focused before attempting anything else.

"I haven't taught chi before..." Ranma trailed off looking at her expectantly he wasn't really good at explaining himself. "So... we'll do this by feel."

"How were you taught?" Akane asked lightly.

Ranma remembered the training he went through with the Amazons and shook his head. "That was a long specialized process. They had me using my chi before I knew what it was, so the blasts came in easily. Since I don't think I can teach you Amazon techniques to prepare you for harnessing chi, we have to tackle it differently. Besides, the way we reach it is heavily dependent on personality and I don't know much of what motivates you yet."

"Oh." Akane said as she tried to find a comfortable arrangement. "Okay, so what now, sensei?"

Ranma looked at Akane, a bit startled at what she had called him. He let it pass since he ** was** teaching her. "Close your eyes and focus on the darkness of the mind's eye." Ranma said then looked at her, she seemed to be choking out the beginnings of a giggle. "Come on take this seriously, I thought you wanted to learn this."

"Sorry." Akane whispered as she closed her eyes again, trying to focus. Ranma watched her a little impatiently. After awhile Akane's eyes fluttered open as she complained, "How am I supposed to know what's the darkness of the mind's eye is?"

Ranma gave her a frown. "Didn't I just say we go by feel? Let's try this again." Obediently Akane screwed her eyes shut and Ranma looked at her deciding that her degree of concentration was enough he whispered, "In that darkness you see a glowing light."

"In what color?" Akane asked immediately opening her eyes again.

"Are you going to interrupt me in everything I tell you to do?" Ranma asked in defeat.

Akane crossed her arms in front of her. "I can't understand why you can't see that I can't imagine these things with you telling me things that are half finished."

Stopping for a while Ranma sighed then gave her a long and hard look, "You're supposed to tell me what that light is, I'm not supposed to tell you because I don't know what you will take to." Akane was silent after that. "Now, will we continue without any interruptions or do you need a demonstration?"

"We'll continue?" She said in a tentative voice that was more of a question than a statement.

It took them three hours for her to get her focused enough again. Finally, she let out a sigh and looked at Ranma. "I can't believe this, the waves are distracting me."

Ranma threw up his hands. "I give up."

"You're just toying with me, aren't you?"

* * *

After serpent's Bluff 

She started to reach for it but she took it back. "You jerk."

"What?" Ranma looked at her completely flabbergasted. "What did

I do this time?"

"I'd **try** to hit you if I knew I could." Akane retorted as she jumped down the first length of the cliff, she wobbled a bit and then clung on to the strips of vegetation that had grown on the outcropping. "Of all the insufferable things! You pathetic, stupid -ooh!" She jumped down another length and then balanced herself on the wall.

"Are you sure you can do that alone?" Ranma winced as some of the rocks tumbled from where she was standing on to the ground below. "I really don't understand --"

Akane threw a pebble at him, which landed squarely on his forehead. She was a bit surprised that he didn't block it and was more surprised over the fact that it hit him. She had never landed a blow against him, and she felt elated over her small victory. "That's right Ranma Saotome, you don't. Now leave me alone."

On her third jump Akane lost her footing and fell to the ground. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the impact when someone's strong arms caught her. She didn't need to open her eyes to know who it was. Who else **could** it be?

"Let me down. I can walk."

Ranma obliged her, and she turned to walk back to Rose Brier, leaving Ranma looking after her bewilderedly.

* * *

Nabiki ordered all of the maids to clean up. Most of the preparations were finished and she had a few spare hours to look around the house. As she turned around the corner, however she was immediately ran over by a distraught looking Akane.

Rolling her eyes heavenward she muttered, "Leave Ranma to do something simple and he blunders completely." She heard a loud slam from the shoji and a succession of punches against what Nabiki thought was the pillow.

Stopping a maid she called for some towels, warm water and soap, which were all presented to her almost immediately. Walking towards Akane's room, she balanced the platter of things in her right hand to open the door. Setting the things down on the floor she took a brush from Kodachi's dresser and sat on the floor.

"I take it that the lesson didn't go as expected?" Nabiki asked arranging the water and towels neatly in front of her, taking her time to fix it in the most pleasing arrangement she could make. "Chi does take time to learn, Akane."

"Go away." Akane muttered, although she did not seem like she was crying, she sounded... wounded. "I don't need your sympathy Nabiki."

Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "Who said I was offering any?"

That got a reaction from Akane, who bolted up straight from the futon on which she was pounding and glared at Nabiki. "Then what are **you** doing **here**? I'd appreciate it if you would go away."

"I would, but I'd rather not spare you of my excruciating company." Nabiki said all of this in a rather light voice as she lifted Akane's chin and turned it from side to side. "What, no bruises? And I thought you were down because you had been hurt."

"If that's all Nabiki? I'd rather be spared from your acerbic tongue, thank you." Akane jerked her head away so Nabiki wouldn't be holding it

anymore. "Now please."

"Yes, if you would rather wallow in misery than in my company I would gladly oblige." Nabiki started moving the wash towards the small platter she had brought with her. "Our meal will be served in a stick. I do not think Yuka-san would appreciate it if you did not come to eat her specialty."

"I don't feel hungry." Akane answered.

"You **are** trying to kill yourself aren't you?" Nabiki asked a little harshly. "You've just been revived from your stint of depression and now you're trying so hard to die. I don't know why we even **try**."

"Then why do you?" Akane shot back, she was feeling a little testy and was lashing out at the closest person who could. "No one's forcing you anyway."

Nabiki closed her eyes and willfully calmed herself down. Fighting with Akane had not been her purpose when she had entered the room. She opened them slowly, hoping she had checked her temper. "Look, Akane, I know that I don't exactly come off as the comforting type, but I am all

you have right now. It would be beneficial if you told me exactly why you have come home like this when my brother was just supposed to do a simple exercise."

"I'm leaving."

"Leaving? And leaving handling Ranma all to me?" Nabiki laughed. Although she didn't mean that Ranma was a pain to handle, it seemed to have the desired effect on Akane. She was paying attention. "You must be joking. Why? You can't just simply pack up and go, Akane. There must be a reason, because without it you won't be able to leave. Ranma won't let you."

"It's what he wanted isn't it?"

Nabiki looked hard at Akane. "I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it. Emotions do blind the eye and dull the wit, don't they? Exactly what happened?"

Sighing, Akane retold her experience that afternoon up from when they left the house, towards the evening when she returned. There was a weird smile playing on Nabiki's face when Akane ended, and Akane was unsure what it was for.

"My brother really does know how to pick his fights, doesn't he?" Pushing the bowl of water in front of Akane, Nabiki offered her a smile. "Here wash your face, and dry up. Soak in the furo if you must."

"You do understand me, don't you Nabiki?" Akane asked as she took the bowl from the woman's hands.

"Yes. But try to understand as well, my brother has had that infernal curse of getting his foot in his mouth since we were children. It's an irritable quality most men in my family posses." She nodded. She extremely hated it when there were misunderstandings under her watch. They brought her more migraines than she could count. "You don't need to hurry, I'll send a maid to help you."

"No... really, I don't need help." Akane protested.

Nabiki turned to look at her for a moment then went out the shoji. "Protest does not become you, Lady Akane." With that, she disappeared from Akane's sight. True to her word, she sent up one maid after her while she searched for her wayward brother.

Stepping out onto the garden, she looked up to the roof and found him brooding there. "Predictable as always, brother." Nabiki murmured as she jumped up to sit beside him.

Ranma turned to look at her when she landed and gave her a skeptical look. "Don't tell me you're up here for a lecture Nabiki, because I'm in no mood for one."

Taking her time, Nabiki touched the mark in the middle of his forehead. The bruise would have taken longer to heal had he been someone else, but now she already saw the sickly yellow and black that told her it was already healing.

"I take it she told you." Nabiki slapped the bruise lightly and she was rewarded by his pained expression. "Now what did you do that for, Nabiki?" Ranma glared at her rubbing the sore spot.

"Sometimes I really wonder at you, Ranma." Nabiki murmured, as if nothing had happened, ignoring his protest at her small tap. "I have a disappointed woman downstairs and it doesn't take the most clever samurai to realize why."

"Why?" Ranma asked frowning at

her knowing he just **had** to ask the question of her. "And you're taking her side in this."

"Of course I am. It was your insensitive comment that got you into this. It's you who's going to get yourself out." Nabiki gave him a brief smile that implied she loved knowing something that he didn't. "You're going to have to figure why she's hurt all by yourself, Ranma. How the hell are you going to keep her if you don't know her?"

"But-- but--"

"You're starting to sound like a spoiled child, Saotome. I'm not going to be here forever to tell you what exactly you're doing wrong in your marriage." Nabiki stood up to leave again. "I know it goes against your nature to -- god forbid -- apologize, so do what you must then. You took her to the Serpent's Bluff. That was a nice start if you didn't foul up at the last minute. I wish you luck."

For the second time that day, Ranma was left staring.

* * *

Ranma found himself in front of Akane's door -- again. He was starting to hate the arrangement,

and the feeling of guilt he had whenever he tried to knock on the door. From someone who usually was so self-assured, this alien feeling scared him immensely, especially since he found himself in the situation in more times than he could count.

"How many times can you stand in front of a door and try to **knock** without succeeding anyway?" Ranma muttered to himself as he tried to stare the door down. "This is ridiculous."

He was starting to walk towards his room, when Akane turned around the corner. She slowed down immediately when she spotted him and then halted completely a few feet away. She looked like she was fresh from a bath, a maid followed her shortly but upon seeing Ranma the maid bowed and backed away.

Frowning at her lack of control on the situation Akane was torn between wanting to turn back and leave Ranma in the corridor or rush towards her room. It was entirely too school-girlish a reaction and so she stood her ground.

It took a while before Ranma could say anything. "Akane, would you like to accompany me tonight?"

"No, thank you." Akane answered with the same amount of hostility as when she had demanded to walk. She started for her room and Ranma began panicking.

He took her arm lightly so that she wouldn't leave. "Some of the townspeople have arranged some sort of party in town tonight. It isn't much like what you saw before, but it is going to be... festive." She opened her mouth but didn't give her a chance to say no. "It's two days away from Ganjitsu. People are already starting to hang decorations and tomorrow they leave for the money-cleansing shrine."

"Go take yourself." Akane muttered. "Nobody will notice I'm not there anyway."

He let her go and whispered, "I will."

Akane stopped walking, but didn't turn around to face him. She lacked the courage to do so. He had managed to say the words that would make her agree to coming. "Okay, fine. I'll go with you, but this doesn't mean I've forgiven you. Just give me some time to get ready." With that, she entered her room.

Ranma sighed. The hard part was over.

'Now all I have to do is organize a peasant's party before she finishes dressing up.'

Right.

* * *

"You didn't!" Nabiki protested as she stopped in the center of Kamakura her brother had just finished retelling everything he had done. Nabiki was starting to believe she had accused the wrong person of being crazy. Everyone was busy hanging their decorations that they hardly noticed the twins' presence. "You do realize this is almost impossible."

"The difference of possible and impossible lies in the student's determination." Ranma answered cockily quoting Cologne, he then brought his fingers to his lips for a shrill whistle to get everybody's attention. All of the festivities stopped and everyone immediately bowed. "Since it is New Year's Eve in two days and my mother will be coming I was hoping that we'd start the festivities today with a small gathering. But if you can't do it..."

"I said it was **almost** impossible. I never said it couldn't be done." Nabiki winked as she turned to the people. "Actually my brother has gotten his big mouth in a mess again and he needs your help to right his mistakes. Who will not be leaving for the Money-Cleansing ritual tomorrow?"

Ranma grinned, he knew Nabiki couldn't resist starting on a challenge.

A few of the peasants raised their hands. None of the merchants did. "Okay, among the merchants and traders, whose house has already finished preparations for the new year?"

Many of the hands went up, Nabiki's eyes glinted as she chose the richest man on the merchant classy. "We'll hold tonight's festivities at your house, Tanashi-san. You'll be compensated by me tonight or by Sasuke tomorrow evening. Get your house ready for the entire Kamakura. Get a long table for the food to be deposited." With a wave of a hand, he was dismissed and he ran towards his house.

She turned to Ranma. "Brother, do you want to get yourself into trouble again? Go get your wife and **stall** we'll be ready in a stick."

"Make it half a stick." Ranma gave her a smile as he took off.

"_If you can't keep the goddamn woman busy before the first fireworks hit the air, I will seriously doubt your ability to keep that wife of yours!_"

"_And if you can't do this in half a stick, I will seriously doubt your skills in managing __Kamakura!_" He gave her a cheery wave that Nabiki knew should have infuriated her.

Nabiki gave a very unlady-like snort then focused back on the people. "Every food vendor has to produce three platters of whatever dish they can serve and a bottle of sake. Be ready in half a stick. Bring it to Tanashi-san's residence. All of you will be compensated. Each and every food vendor should be told."

She knelt in front of a little boy. "Do you know where we could get fireworks lad?" The boy nodded and Nabiki smiled picking out money from the string that she brought she handed it to the boy. "Go and get some to Tanashi-san's residence. Tell him to fire one when the celebration is ready."

She took another coin from her purse. "And this one is for you." The boy's eyes widened at the amount of money that had been handed down to him. Most probably he had not seen so much before. "Remember, don't cheat me boy. I know how much my money is worth."

The wide-eyed boy nodded and ran to fulfill his task.

Picking ten peasants she smiled. "Now you have to inform the rest of Kamakura of Tanashi-san's little party. Tell them it's not necessary to bring gifts. Just ** be** there." She picked at the man at the beginning. "You start down the farthest residential area and move across towards the center."

Nabiki gave out instructions for the entire night and glared pointedly at Rose Brier all the while. 'If Ranma messes **this** one up, I really don't know what I'd do.'

* * *

Akane tapped her foot against the tatami. By Sara's count she had circled the room thirty-seven times. Sara was already starting to get dizzy following the girl when she stopped. "What the hell is taking Ranma so long?"

Usually dressing up was easy. Akane wasn't really a flashy type that needed a lot of make-up and another hour for checking her hair. This time, it felt like she had suffered through an eternity. Sara had insisted on dressing her up in the most formal garb she could find.

That consisted of a kimono and another hundred of under kimonos with it. Akane brought her foot down when the girl tried to tie her knees together. It had taken another long wait for Sara to fix her hair just the way she wanted it and yet another for her to find the accessories.

Through her long dress up session, she had thought Ranma was getting tired of waiting. Thirty minutes after she dressed up, she found out her husband wasn't even at home.

"Don't worry, my lady. I'm sure Lord Ranma is just preparing to look nice. It's a night out with the people." Sara offered to placate her mistress. Akane just frowned at that, it wasn't helping her temper that she had waited so long for him to arrive anyway.

Akane was about to open her mouth for a retort when there was a knock from the shoji. "Come in!"

The shoji slid open silently and Ranma stepped in. Ranma offered a hand to her. "Shall we go?"

"You're late." She whispered as she took his hand and followed him outside her room. "I thought you said half a stick."

"Things are a little bit complicated." Ranma answered as he led her out of the house through the garden. "I had to fix a few things... Are you still mad at me?"

"Should I be?" Akane whispered as she walked along the garden taking the sight of the roses, she placed her hand on one of the bushes and plucked one of the black roses inhaling the scent. "The flowers bloom beautifully at night."

Not knowing what to say, Ranma kept silent as he watched her place the rose where her hair was gathered into a pony tail. It was the first time he had seen her wear her namesake since her amnesia.

"You're quiet tonight." Akane turned back to face Ranma and smiled. "Should I be worried?"

"I thought I might say something to offend you again." Ranma smiled ruefully and then looked at the sky. Although they hadn't done anything today, the day had worn him out. "You're too sensitive nowadays."

"And you speak out of turn." Akane pointed out, then playfully took his hand into hers and tugged him to the path that leads toward residential area. "Come on, your vassals must be getting impatient waiting for you."

Another look at the sky and Ranma shook his head. "Not just yet, they can wait a little longer. Sometimes they all want a little time for themselves before they need Nabiki and I."

Akane whirled around and dropped his hand. "Nabiki is coming along?"

Ranma placed his hands behind his neck and continued looking at the sky, not noticing the change in Akane's demeanor. "Yeah, it's as much her party as it is mine."

"I thought this was about **us**." Akane started backing slowly. "Will you stop looking at the sky and look at me?"

Ranma snapped back to attention and dropped his hands to his side. "I'm -- It's a Rose Brier thing, Akane. Of course Nabiki is in it."

"Fine." Akane sighed, not really expecting it, but realizing that she should have. She knew she shouldn't be jealous, but Nabiki was the closest person Ranma had and even she couldn't rival that. "I just thought this was our night together."

"So... you're still mad at me?" Ranma asked tentatively.

"We'll see." The garden was illuminated by the stream of red and white sparkles. Akane looked up and smiled. "The night is still young."

"Come on," Ranma answered as he walked down the path. "Let's go."

* * *

Ranma was sipping sake. It was the first time Nabiki had seen her brother willingly take a gulp. She almost laughed. Of the two of them, Nabiki could handle her drink better than Ranma. He kept away from it, especially since Nabiki could beat him easily once she got him sufficiently drunk.

That did not take much time.

She took the small cup from him.

He glared at her.

She almost laughed again. Her brother was a gem. "Do stop complaining Ranma."

"I'm not complaining." He grumbled as he tried to rest his head against the shoji. He was restless. He was itching for a fight he knew he couldn't have.

Nabiki turned to look at the floor to watch Akane. "She's doing quite well for someone who doesn't know how to dance." Nabiki hummed the snatch of music that the samisen was playing.

"She's a klutz." Ranma muttered, folding his arms stubbornly across his chest.

"Oh?" Nabiki raised an eyebrow, forcefully hiding a slow smile that was threatening to burst out from her. If there was one thing she could be sure of, it was that her brother was easily pushed into jealousy. And jealousy made him irrational. "Exactly how is she a klutz?"

"She brings her hands way too high and she thrusts her hips to much to the side and..." Ranma went on a litany of his wife's flaws. Nabiki thought it was a litany of ways his wife tried to get close to other men. Which she found absurd.

"Akane is doing fine." Nabiki patted her brother's shoulder in comfort. By the way he was glaring daggers at Akane. You would think he had not planned this whole gathering in the first place.

"She irritates the hell out of me." Ranma muttered blowing his bangs out of his eyes. It made him look childish.

"You think you can do better?" Nabiki asked pointedly.

"Of course!" Ranma almost shouted that out.

Nabiki gave him a wide smile pulled him closer to her and whispered, "Then go show her how it's supposed to be done." She gave him a push towards where Akane was and gave him a slow wink.

He stared at her. 'The daft man is going to get himself into trouble again.' Nabiki thought to herself. But she knew Ranma. He would not back down from this one. He had been challenged.

She also knew one more thing about her brother.

He didn't know this particular dance.

-

Akane smiled graciously at her partner and gave a small bow. The man blushed and was reduced to a stuttering idiot in minutes.

Akane thought he was being adorable.

Ranma thought he was being stupid.

Akane was about to walk towards their host when Ranma took her arm. She looked up at him and gave a small smile. "I thought we're still agreed on being mad at each other."

"I thought we're agreed to do the best for tonight."

Akane nodded as she gave him a small bow. "I don't think we should be dancing with each other, Ranma. I only know the western dances and you only know Japanese ones."

"So I've noticed." Ranma turned at Akane's last partner. Then back at Akane. He had not known where she had time to pick up dancing of all things, but she seemed to know what she was doing. "Your partners seem to learn quickly."

"They were slow dances." There was a twinkle in her eyes as she raised it to meet his. "I was prepared to do more of the energetic ones. But since you can't oblige me..."

"Are you saying my vassals are better than I am?" Ranma demanded, although his voice was low, it was even. Akane understood he took her words as an insult. She also knew it was his pride talking.

-

There was no music in the air. Everyone had stopped to watch them, to watch the entire reason for this whole gathering in the first place. A last minute serenade for Ranma to keep his wife.

She was determined not to dance with him. "No, I'm saying you can't take this dance."

She turned to walk away when Ranma caught her arm and spun her to face him. "I thought I told you never to turn your back on me when I'm talking to you." He whispered.

She openly glared at him. Then she smiled. "Okay, have it your way."

-

Nabiki had to smile at what she was watching. At the beginning had almost given up on Ranma. He really didn't know what he was doing. He had stepped on her three times.

Her brother didn't take humiliation well. That didn't mean he wasn't doing something about it either. Soon after he had seen the rhythm, his movements became fluid, more graceful. She had to applaud, it had taken him one minute to learn the entire from her.

They weren't moving to the music.

They completely ignored it.

That's probably the reason why the musicians stopped playing after a while. That, and to watch the couple move. Whatever western dance this one was, the samisen isn't the instrument that would complement the extremely fast dueling that was happening in front of her. Although Ranma wasn't perfect in his movement, he was making fewer mistakes. Nabiki assumed he probably thought of it as martial arts.

"I wouldn't put it past him to think of Martial Arts **dancing**." Nabiki muttered as she sipped the warm sake. She stopped after her third cup. Druken-fu wasn't something she enjoyed. She hated the hangover. She had learned it for the reason of knowing what it was and to glean knowledge from it. Still it came in handy when she **did** find herself drunk.

They stopped dancing in front of her.

It took a while for them to register they haven't moved a bit from their position when they had stopped and stepped away from each other. Akane was quite breathless and Nabiki was sure it wasn't from the strain.

Nabiki took one look at Ranma and another short look at Akane raised her eyebrow and drawled, "Are you sure the two of you are fighting?"

"Yes." Came the simultaneous reply. Nabiki shrugged as she stood up. "Well I'm going to eat. _I thought you were planning on soothing her, Ranma. I've got news for you: This isn't working._" She smiled at Ranma and then Akane and left.

Ranma sighed and looked at Akane. "Does everything have to be a competition with you?"

"No." Akane answered as she walked towards the open shoji. "It's you who competes for everything Ranma. You always have to win, in martial arts, in dancing, in life ..." she trailed off for a second and looked at him. "In love."

"No... that's not true..." Ranma answered indignantly his pigtail standing on the end. "I'm not competing for anything. I can lose." The moment the words left him he felt trapped. His training under Genma had been too ingrained that it surfaced everywhere. It was be the best or be nothing, because there is no respect for finishing second.

Akane smiled as she turned her back to him and leaned against him slightly, "See? I'm not fighting with you Ranma. It's just that I'm always backed into a corner with you... I always feel like I have to prove myself because you have a preconceived notion of me."

He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Do you think I **enjoy** fighting with you? It's like I'm trying to guess whatever makes you feel happy and I'm always making the wrong guesses."

Turning her head to the side so that her face was touching his hands Akane sighed. "You still doubt me after I told you that I love you? At least I'm honest with you. You on the other hand you don't give me any proof. You think you're second guessing me? How do you think I feel?"

"This isn't working is it?" Ranma whispered as he took his hands away from her shoulders and turned her around to face him. "You're still as mad at me as when we left the house."

"Oh Ranma," Akane whispered as she slowly shook her head. "This isn't about that anymore. I was so sure you loved me, before you left for Nerima. So sure. Then you come back to me as cold as the day I woke up from my amnesia. This isn't any way to live. I'm forever steeping around you hoping that I won't make a mistake."

Ranma let go of her, not really knowing what to say. Sure that he was going to lose her if he said nothing, yet unsure of how to respond to the situation. In the end, he decided that saying nothing would be better than saying something he would regret later.

What Akane wanted was reassurances that he cannot give, because he was uncertain about what was happening as well. After a moment, he shrugged, and in that instant, he knew that he wasn't going to be able to keep her.

"Then what keeps me here, Ranma? I told you before... I can't wait forever."

-

"Don't tell me. You argued again." Nabiki deadpanned as her brother sat down unceremoniously beside her and watched as the people continued milling about. "These people need rest, Ranma. I know the pretense is a party but these people have had a long day. They're looking forward to tomorrow's festivities and some of them are still going to work."

Ranma nodded, knowing that the night had to end. It just didn't have to end the way he wanted it to. "Am I a jerk, Nabiki?"

Nabiki stared at Ranma, looked at her drink, blinked twice, then stared at Ranma again. "I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you right, did you just ask me if you were a jerk?"

"Yeah."

Nabiki tipped her head to one side, then slowly nodded. "Well... yes. As a matter of fact, you are." Ranma banged his head on the low table once and Nabiki grinned. "Oh you are soooooooooo easy to tease. Come on let's go get her."

As Ranma stood up to look for Akane, Nabiki went to Tanashi and paid him the sum they owed for letting them use the location for their little 'party'. By the time Nabiki was finished with the transaction, Ranma had managed to circle the entire house. "She's nowhere."

Nabiki lifted her eyebrow at Ranma. "You're looking for your wife?"

"Who else?" Ranma deadpanned.

Nabiki cracked a smile and pointed towards the room Ranma hadn't checked. "Your wife was tired from your argument she decided to lock herself up in a nice cozy room."

Ranma strode towards the room and opened the shoji silently. "Oh man..."

Nabiki peered over his shoulder to see Akane sleeping peacefully on one of the spare tatami. "All this between the time I left her and came to you?" Ranma asked incredulously.

"Looks like she's dead to the world." Nabiki muttered as she peered over the woman. "Better forget you had an argument and carry her home, Ranma."

Ranma sighed as he took Akane into his arms and nodded to Nabiki. "You done here? 'Cuz I think mom said she'll be arriving today."

"Isn't she a bit early?" Nabiki eyed him suspiciously. "You forgot to tell me didn't you."

"I had a lot on my mind." Ranma mumbled as Akane muttered something in her sleep. "I'm sorry."

"Your wife constitutes as a lot." Nabiki answered then shrugged. "Oh well, time for another quick set up. I'll go on ahead of you, Ranma.

* * *

If Nabiki knew what Ranma planned before hand, she must be dying with curiosity by now. But her face was schooled towards the children, and she kept their attention busy with the fireworks and the bell.

* * *

"I was imagining what kind of woman's life i was leading. i wanted to know whose sins i was paying for, just how could someone be loathed as much as you are. Do you take pride in torturing other people Kodachi."

"I woulh think by now you would know the answer to that."

* * *

**Chapter 16**

wondering where to send someone who didn't have any other place to go but here.

Wondering where he would find the strength to let her go.

* * *

Ranma came out of the room he'd met Sohin in just as Akane was rounding the corner.. There was no one in the halls since everyone was out celebrating ganjitsu in the dojo. The halls were devoid of all servants and samurai and it cast a silence that she had not associated with Rose Brier. She opened her mouth to call out to him, but in the next second all he knew was that their lips touched and they both were unable to pull away. It was then that he realized that whatever was between the two of them had become something beyond control.

She leaned back against one of the wooden posts as he moved forward, her hands on his hair and his on the small of her back. He gave her everything and took everything from her.

And then he pulled away, moved back from her swiftly without breaking momentum. Without a word, he turned towards the other side of the hallway and left.

Akane opened her mouth in protest and in frustrated anger, but she closed it again realizing that there was nothing more to say. That moment told her with alarming clarity that he'd decided she was going to leave. That there was something between them this strong, but just as the kiss, wordless and could not be captured again.

He was married, this was all that he was willing to give her. He was now sending her away.

* * *

As soon as Ranma managed to acquire hot water, he changed and informed the Tendo siblings of Akane's whereabouts. He spent some time explaining to his sister and the Tendo siblings what had happened but was finally able to break away from all the guests that were awake at that ungodly hour. He managed to arrive in his room without walking into anyone other than the maids.

Stripping off his shirt, Ranma gratefully fell on the futon, dangling his black shirt on his fingers. It had dried some while before, in the middle of his tired insistence to the head of the Tendo clan that Akane was all right. The night was chilly, but after moving around, he was moderately warm and his shirt was decidedly filthy. He wanted a bath, but he was more tired than he was dirty and going to the bath seemed too much work now that he was settled.

He sighed willing himself to fall into sleep, but sleep never came easy to him, especially so soon after a fight. Adrenaline was still high in his system because of the night's events. He rolled over to his side only to find out that he was ** definitely** not alone in his quarters.

"I was wondering when you'd notice me," Akane whispered. She was wearing a white yukata. It made her easy to see in the dark, for the white caught the reflection of the silvery wisps of the moon from his small window. Her hair spilled loosely around her shoulders.. The stark contrast of her hair against the white made her seem almost surreal.

Ranma attributed his lack of attention to weariness but didn't move from his position from the futon. He didn't want to find out if his control would waver in front of her. "I thought I requested you leave without meeting," he reminded her, closing his eyes to pretend sleep or even half sleep.

She walked closer and knelt before the futon, her hair barely touching his skin, as she peered at him. "I wanted to see you," her words hung in the air. (tin by now I am irritated by akane and speak nabiki's words again. If you do not understand what it means then you are not worthy of him. Think about it┘family breaker! She lived in time where marriage was important and sacred. She should have misgivings about this! Especially when she's a very principled, highly self-righteous girl.)

Ranma opened his eyes in irritation. That was his first mistake. She was looking down on him, her hair spilling over, her eyes looking down into his, hands on either side of his shoulders. Although he knew he probably could throw her out, he felt trapped. He weighed his words before replying, "You leave early tomorrow."

She leaned closer. Ranma felt the first pangs of panic though she never made contact. She was just hovering there, her cheek barely touching his, her breath hot against his ear. Moving her cheek agonizingly slow against his, she closed her eyes as she almost, but not quite, touched her lips against his chin. The only contact she made as she mimicked the moves of touching his face was when her eyelashes brushed his jaw, when her nose was almost hovering at his neck.

Ranma's arm shot out to push her away, but he only succeeded in making her look up into his eyes. "What could have been, but never was," she whispered and when Ranma began to formulate his protest, Akane leaned down and settled her lips over his.

He finally managed to push her away. "What do you want Akane? Torture? Because what you're doing will haunt us both for the rest of our lives."

"When I wanted to leave, you kept me here." There was desperation in her voice, tinged with anger. "You have no business asking me to leave now that you've made me want to stay."

"You think this is easy for me?" he demanded, wanting her to understand the choice he was forced to make. "I've lived until now because I didn't know any way else to live, because I didn't know what life could be like. I knew no happiness, but life was constant. You tempt me with things I cannot afford to have."

"I forgot you hold your honor like a shield," Akane whispered accusingly as she slowly withdrew. "You would never take me because I am not your wife, even if you want me." Proudly she stood, and left the room as silently as she had stolen in.

Ranma rubbed his hand against his face, knowing that **any** chance of sleep was not much of a possibility **now**. He fervently wished that his pride had not prevented him from taking the first and last good look at her. He objected to the reasons she accused him of having. 'No. Not because you're not my wife. It's because **I'm** not your husband.'

He didn't want to see her, not because he didn't care, but because he feared that the small amount of will he harbored would crumble at her sight. That he would be unwilling to let her go. He didn't want to test his character with her.

Even now, all he wanted to do was beg her to stay. But he couldn't. He has an entire fiefdom to protect. He had the entire Sagami to protect. He could not leave Sagami, and Akane could not stay in Sagami with him. One of them had to leave.

And he wished that it didn't have to be her.

**chapter 17**

but took one of the other swords she kept by the sword rack slinging it against her waist. Nabiki didn't know that Kodachi owned swords, but it worked to her advantage. At least no one could cry foul saying that Kodachi used an unfamiliar sword. "Ranma's happiness would be my victory."

* * *

"Do I? Lady Akane, I was wrong in ordering you away." Nabiki slowly went closer and bowed deeply to Akane, the most humble she has ever been in front of anyone. "Had circumstances been different... I believe my brother was... pleased with you." 

"So pleased that he doesn't **want** me." Akane said placing her hand on Nabiki's shoulder in a sign for her to stand and then slowly turning away towards one of the smaller rooms to hide the extreme sadness the thought has brought upon her.

* * *

her own. "The problem here, Ranma, is that you're too busy holding on to your unworthiness. You should allow yourself to be happy once in a while."

Ranma looked at it and her unbelieving. "You know what the problem is with you, Nabiki? You're too convinced about your own unhappiness."

**Chapter 18**

"And what about **her**?" Nabiki asked solemnly, knowing that he would regret not coming back for Akane when he had the chance. Yet, he was forcefully not acknowledging the subject. "What do you propose to do with her now that you're not married?"

Ranma had that determined look on his face. Nabiki was sure that no words of hers would sway him. "I've given her to her brother. I wouldn't take her back now."

"I understood that it would take time. But she will not wait for you forever." Nabiki shook her head. "No matter, we'll talk about this again. Stay here, get some rest. I'll take your place with the vassals moving."

* * *

"Sohin and I will wash up and fetch water from the nearby stream, my lady." And before Akane could protest their absence, they were both on their way out.

"Have you come to get me?" Akane asked slowly. Ranma looked up from the bamboo ladle to find her looking away. It was difficult to look at a man that she had depended on for a year, that she had fallen in love for a year and realize that she could not be with him anymore.

He placed the ladle down before answering her. "No. I have promised your brother that you will return to Tendo land with him and I will not break my word." If only everything was that easy. If only he could take her back with him. But he had given his word, and his battle was not over yet.

"Sohin promises some Tendo allies beyond Saotome borders. He says that some have been rooted as far as here to escape Lady Chisei's power." She closed her eyes, and Ranma wondered if she knew just how she was going to be used in this entire war the Tendos were going to wage.

"I'm sorry. I cannot be what you want me to be." Ranma entreated, although he regretted it the moment he said it. It was a sign of weakness to admit that he wanted to become what she wanted.

Akane finally looked at him in the eye. "That's the problem with you, Ranma. You make assumptions of what **I** want. You never seem to realize that I just--" she stopped before she could complete her sentence. 'I just want you to take me home. How would that have sounded to him?'

"Be that as it may. I am on my way to Happosai to set some matters straight." Ranma clenched his fist, just thinking about the meeting. He certainly could not take her before that meeting ended. He barely knew if he was going to survive it. "I am not in the position to take you anywhere."

"Why are you moving from Rose Brier to Nerima?" Akane demanded to know, as though she was still lady of the household. "What has happened? Nabiki told me it was for you to tell me."

'So Nabiki didn't inform her,' Ranma thought looking out the window which Nabiki had escaped earlier that evening. He thought from all of Nabiki's actions to bring him and Akane together, that she would pre-empt this. He silently thanked his sister for giving him time to think it over. "I can't say anything right now because I don't know what's going to happen to me."

"You selfish idiot." She hit his arm hard with her fist several times, a dull pounding he barely felt but let her do. "And you telling me this will supposedly make me feel better? Now that I don't know what's going to happen to you?"

"You're with your family now," Ranma reminded her, gesturing towards the door that Ifuku and Sohin were standing against just moments before. "What happens to me is inconsequential. I have enough worries of my own. I am going to face Happosai tomorrow, and hell, he might sign my death warrant. He may be wrong, he may be a lecherous pervert and hell he might be **worse** than that, but we Saotomes are his playthings because he practically owns us. Going to him because he played around with our lives like a chessboard does not suddenly make the world turn and make him wrong, because he has the power to be **right** even though he isn't."

"And you want me to be all happy because you left me with my family when you're going against that man?" Akane gave his arm a final pound before he lifted her right fist away from his shoulder. "Are you insane?"

'Why can't you just agree to this Akane? Why does everything have to be difficult with you?' Ranma moved away and turned his back on her. "I am going to deal with this my way."

"Just like you dealt with Kodachi, huh?" Akane asked softly. "I guess after all this time I asked you why you've never divorced her I would understand why you chose her over me. Tell me, is being with her making you happy?"

Ranma's throat constricted, he didn't want to tell her Kodachi was dead because if she knew she'd just be hurt that he wasn't seeking her out for marriage. But he didn't want to lie to her either. In the end, he didn't answer. His back was presented to her, knowing that he was a poor liar. "I'm leaving soon. I have to meet my sister in Nerima today. We have to be solid when we appear in front of Happosai." It was times like these that they absolutely cannot be divided. Whenever an issue was important, the twins always stood together when addressing Happosai, it lent the situation gravity.

-

"My good bye." Akane whispered again.

Ranma took a long time before he could answer. "Why are you doing this?"

"What are you afraid of? I've always asked this of you." Akane asked slowly trying to look into his eyes straight on. 'End this with how it started.'

-

Akane touched her lips and then gently moved on to her ear willing his warmth to remain. But she knew this was their final goodbye. There would be no more second chances... and that kiss had been the sweetest and the most painful way to say goodbye.

* * *

she ignored the question but looked around the house in inspection. "is this how normal people live?" 

"what do you mean?"

"people who aren't daimyo. People who aren't heirs," she clarified.

"people who aren't me?" he teased, but she nodded seriously so he straightened himself seriously. "yeah, pretty much. This is a small place though. Just enough for two people

* * *

"i'm sorr--"

"no, no. Don't apologize.""i don't think i could let you go, if you do."

"so how do we end this, Ranma?

* * *

She knew that this was their last moments together. She moaned, wanting more than what he would give her but Ranma withdrew bringing his lips close to her ear whispering, "Sayonara." And then he was gone. As suddenly as he had come, all lost within the blink of an eye.

* * *

"It was for my own safety that I have been kept away for the better part of two years. My brother said that it would be wise if I played dead for a while, I had been grievously wounded the last time Chisei's samurai and I fought," A great lie, however, it was much easier to digest than the truth. Her being a descendant several hundred of years removed would be a great impossibility to explain, even if she did currently reside in her ancestor's body.

* * *

**Chapter 19**

"I would hope that Uncle Ayame had remained closer to the borders but he's farther North." Yuki murmured, mentioning one of the more influential Tendo leaders that had been forced to vacate the lands. "We'll have to settle for those who're between us and Tendo land."

"What's the rush?" Akane asked unwittingly.

Sohin looked at her sharply before he remembered the unique circumstances that Akane had brought to them. He had to admire her for her ability to keep pace with them. Because Ifuku and Sohin grew up together, they knew how each other thought, and Yuki was a child clearly brought up with the care of the two of them seeing the child's ease with his companions.

"The new year's celebration." Ifuku whispered, her voice barely audible in the sleet of rain that was attacking them. "It will end in another four days. The samurai would be in full force again."

Akane looked apprehensive but seemed to fully support the idea. "There's nothing... dishonorable about attacking at the new year celebrations?"

Sohin laughed stopping

momentarily from the brisk pace that they had been using. They had not taken to the trees for Akane did not know the skill and the rain made the branches too slick for footholds. "I'm just repaying the favor, sister."

Ifuku gave Sohin a disapproving look before she turned to Akane. "You forget easily because you were young then." Words spoken for the benefit of Yuki's ears. "We were banished at ganjitsu, Akane. Father had died a few weeks before. A start of the year, a start of a new rule."

* * *

Sanuki has long awaited your return, Eruchii. Chisei will marvel at the likeness if you get to see her. You have managed to evade pursuit because only few samurai that knew you were willing to hunt you. Chisei brought a new order with her, new samurai a new rule.

* * *

Your people have long awaited your return."

"I imagine Sanuki has forgotten about me," Sohin muttered under his breath.

* * *

Akane pointed towards one of the trees in the roadside. "Look Ifuku-san, it's fruit bearing trees!" Akane said eagerly as she looked from the base of the tree up to the dotted red in teh leaes.

Ifuku looked uneasey as both Sei and Yuki eagerly stood up from their resting place and pointed at one tree to Akane.

Sohin was behind them giving Yuki a leg up while Akane scrambled up to get her prize.

**Chapter 20**

You've come to take her back

Am I that obvious?

You're married: make her consort?

My wife is dead

I cannot give you my sister back while we're in the middle of a war.

I gave yopu men for battle what more? I cannot fight for you it'll show signs that your beginning rule is weak, dependent on my benevolence. Establishment of sovereignty

I propose: fight me

* * *

Akane stepped up to him before slapping him in the face. Ranma stared at her in disbelief.

"What did you expect?" Akane asked vehemently as she rubbed her hands against her arms. She had not expected to see him. She had not been prepared to be handed over either. "You ditch me for that maniac and now we're back to where we started... Just what kind of lady do you think I am?"

"One who doesn't believe in pulling her punches," Ranma muttered ruefully as he rubbed his cheek.

* * *

knowing that the news her brother relayed about Kodachi's demise was Ranma's story to tell. Even Nabiki held her tongue and she had been given the chance to reveal it to the girl.

* * *

"But I've just found you. You're my family now." 

"Akane," Ifuku said as she bent hear head down to join her brother on the floor. "Saotome-sama's not going to come back here. Nabiki wrote that he's unhappy. I think you could change that. You managed to do it when you were Kodachi, you could do it now that you're you."

"And no matter how much he may deny it, he cares for you deeply." Sohin said letting go of her hands. "The only reason why he let you come with us is becuase

* * *

Ifuku looked at Akane thoughtfully wondering if it was a good idea to interrupt her from her thoughts. Akane was sitting on the edge of the porch flipping a small item glinting in the light in her hands. 

She was so absorbed with what she was doing that she barely noticed it when Ifuku sat down beside her. "You know, there are worse things than going back to Sagami with Saotome-sama."

Akane almost dropped the object, but had clasped it so tightly before looking at Ifuku perplexed. Though they weren't really siblings, they had become friends in the short time that Ifuku coached Akane. "I don't think I can go back to that life now."

"You didn't want to leave." Akane winced at the words Ifuku were saying. "You've hanged on to his offering of forever. It's sad when forever lasts only three months."

"I gave up all of my pride when I went to him, and I accepted the offer because I thought we might never meet," Akane answered clasping the small pin that she had been toying with, a while ago. "And now, I realize I'm scared. I'm scared that he might refuse me a second time when I don't have a legitimate excuse to stay away. But more importantly, I'm scared of going back."

Ifuku cocked her head to one side, "Akane, anything that is ultimately worthwhile initially scares people."

Akane broke into a smile playfully whispering, "You make that sound like you know everything, Ifuku."

"But I do know everything." Ifuku laughed teasing Akane, trying to bring a smile into her face.

Akane groaned. "That makes it worse."

"Come on, my lady. You've just been engaged. Wouldn't it be wise to prepare yourself to meet your groom?"

Akane sighed as she stood up, conceding the argument if not the entire debate. Ifuku smiled, Akane had not outright challenged the engagement albeit perplexed by it. She just might be convinced to leave with Ranma tomorrow.

* * *

"Ifuku -- Shori has suggested we talk," Akane whispered as she moved towards the inner room, still not used to the house. 

"I was afraid you were going to let me leave without talking to you." Ranma said uncertainly wondering, not for the first time, how she was settling in her new life.

"Just as you wanted to do with me?" He winced at the accusation. Akane shook her head. "Go back to your wife, Ranma. You certainly don't need another one."

It took the thought of Akane walking away from him again, for Ranma to tell her the truth. "Kodachi is dead." Akane looked at him sharply. "She was killed by Nabiki sometime ago. I'm... free."

A glimmer of hope flared inside Akane. "Did you come here to get me?"

"No."

Akane inhaled deeply. She supposed the truth was better than a lie. Ranma had always been truthfully blunt with her. But she hadn't expected it to hurt. Akane stood up. "Then why are you here?"

"Akane I--"

Akane shook her head, not willing to accept excuses. "Why are you doing this to me, Ranma?"

"It was for your own good," Ranma explained, not knowing how he was going to defend himself.

* * *

"You have to do what's best for you Akane," Ranma answered as he looked out the window of the room, leaving her beside the futon staring up at him. It afforded the view of the river and some of the flickering lights of the village. "Your family will make you happy." 

"You people always decide on what's best for me," Akane said temper raising a notch. "Don't you think I'm old enough to make decisions for myself?"

Ranma looked at her thoughtfully and then at the room and the village below. It was not so different from Sagami. Sanuki was certainly mishandled, but since Tendo seemed to be competent, he might make a bustling town of it yet. "Happosai is angry at me, Akane. I wanted you to have a shot of happiness. I certainly didn't believe you'd have that with me."

Ranma reached out to clasp her hands, but stopped just short of touching her. He had never been good at comfort. It was an action that hadn't entered into his marriage. "I can't explain things I don't understand, Akane."

* * *

"So it's come to this then," Akane commented as they approached the porch, picking up her discarded kimono and shrugging it on. "The only thing we'll talk about is martial arts." 

Ranma took the obi and helped her with it, looping it around her waist. "We both know it's the only safe topic between the two of us."

* * *

Ifuku wrapped the last of the bandages around Sohin's head and then wrung her hands in frustration. She should have gone down with him. They both knew how dangerous their stepmother was and she let him face her alone. 

"How is it going with Ranma and Akane?" Sohin asked from the futon.

Ifuku thought that he was probably the only man who could think about his sister at a time like this. But then, it was Chisei who inflicted the wound and he had twenty years of practice of ignoring her just as he had twenty years practice of looking after his younger siblings. "They're both stubborn, but I expected that. You know Akane and Ranma-sama aren't really all that different from Nabiki-sama."

"Manipulative and scheming?" Sohin smiled as he tried to sit up.

"Not good at handling emotions," Ifuku quipped.

"So what are they fighting about now?" Sohin asked lightly, trying to take her mind away from the seriousness of his wounds.

"They're not fighting exactly," Ifuku answered looking up just as Akane was entering the room to sit with her newly found siblings. "They're agreeing not to agree."

"Talking behind my back again?" Akane asked as she brushed her hand against the bandage, the words were said more in jest than in irritation. In the travel, they had learned to trust each other and there was a level of banter that they shared. "I just heard about Chisei. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Sohin muttered rubbing his hand against his bandaged eyes, ignoring the question about his own welfare. "I'm not. I've wanted her dead for twenty years. My only regret is that I wasn't the one who killed her."

"But at what cost?" Akane murmured turning to look at Ifuku who shook her head. Even fast healers couldn't replace damaged tissue. You can't heal what's not there. "Then I can't leave here."

"Akane," Sohin said sharply groping for her hands, Akane caught both of them in her own. "I engaged you to Saotome for a reason. I told him it's your decision to stay, but it's not going to be because of this accident."

"Why not?"

"I'm not giving you the easy excuse," Sohin reprimanded then nodded in the general direction of Ifuku. "I've always had Shori to look after me. You on the other hand... you belong with him more than you belong with us."

* * *

Akane took one swallow, a breath for confidence before letting the words rush out with her shaky breath, "That I love you." 

He let her go. "You think that's what I want to hear?" He leaned against the porch post, his arms crossed in front of him. "I don't even believe it."

"If not that then what will you believe?" Akane asked abandoning the pretense of straightening her kimono. "It's my only truth."

"Because I have trouble believing anyone would love me." He gestured vaguely. "I've never understood what that emotion is, and frankly, I don't think I can accept it."

Akane brought her hand to steady Ranma's face and keep it level with her own. "The problem here, Ranma, is that you're too busy holding on to your unworthiness.

* * *

A laugh shot out from behind him. He turned around to face who had watched him and his frown deepened. "You're not someone who accepts mistakes in yourself do you?"

"What do you want, Akane?" He bit out. He'd accepted that she wouldn't go with him. He didn't think she'd risk taunting him this far. Following him to the edge of the borders.

Akane reached out for him but he had backed away again. "Ranma, I'm sorry. I didn't know you'd react this way.

* * *

"I think we've established that on our first meeting," Akane said taking a step closer to him. "At least I acknowledge the truth. You on the other hand would always try to convince yourself that I'm not real."

Could she read him that easily, or was she feeling for the correct answer? He didn't want to find out

* * *

Ranma closed his eyes. "I thought you made up your mind not to come with me."

"I've reevaluated our last talk. My siblings told me something I should have realized a long time ago."

He noticed that she was settling into her family now. The hesitation of calling Eruchii and Shori her siblings was gone. He took the bait. "What?"

"You would always try to convince yourself that I'm not real." Akane was standing in front of him now, almost nose to nose. "I'm coming with you to prove you wrong."

"I don't understand how you could throw away your life for me," Ranma muttered as he turned his back to her and began walking towards the direction of the port. She walked behind him.

"I think the question you really want to ask is: how I could love you," Akane said conversationally. "And we both know the answer to that."

"And what is that Akane?" Ranma asked finally exasperated whirling around and facing her. "I'm sure one night has given you all the answers."

"So I gather your siblings told you," Ranma said as he watched her. He'd never seen her laugh like that. Letting her go with Sohin and Ifuku did wonders to her demeanor. "What's the correct question then?"

"Do you love me?"

Time stopped for Ranma after that question. "How am I going to answer something that I don't understand?" he asked slowly.

He expected her to turn away, but he hadn't expected her to rest her forehead against his chest and sigh. "I know. I know. But if you're not willing to look away for your own happiness then try to understand this: I've been happy with my family, Ranma, but I'm going to be happier with you."

It had been so much easier when they knew they couldn't be together. Now that there were obstacles, it seemed that they were content to roll their own obstacles in their path.

**Epilogue**

I'm Saotome Azuma. We can negotiate my cousin's hand after you finish mourning for my great-grandmother."

Azuma smiled a little at the irony of that. The only other place it sounded even remotely logical would be at a Saotome household.


End file.
